The U Turn
by leg64
Summary: When Atlanta is destroyed Lori, Shane, Carl and Paula joined by Ed, Carol and Sophia travel back to King County, on the way they meet others and band together to survive. Paula wants to find her family and Lori wants to protect hers with the help of Shane. AU but themes from the show are kept. Please review when possible, rated M for the usual stuff
1. Groceries

_This was inspired by the many anti-Lori stories out there. I thought we ought to give her a chance to shine or at least have her own version of the story so far. I decided to change it around somewhat to stop predictability so at the moment there is only our star Paula, Lori, Shane, Carl, Ed, Carol and Sophia present and they are heading away from Atlanta back to King County because Paula wanted to go and search for her husband Tom and her little girl Freya. Happy reading _

Chapter 1:

Groceries

Lori sat quietly in the passenger seat of the "commandeered" RV as she looked out over the horizon. She didn't like this plan to begin with but with the fall of Atlanta and nowhere else to go she thought home was the safest option, she knew her own home wasn't an option since the walkers had been rife in that area but she knew Paula needed to go back.

They had been forced to leave without Tom or Freya since the military was storming through and Paula had been heartbroken, when the question of 'where to go?' had left Ed's filthy lips she had jumped on the opportunity with vigour.

Ed… No there was a rotten excuse for human skin. Man looked like a pig given human form in Lori's opinion, very odd since both his wife and daughter looked like the most polite people on Earth. This man seemed dangerous though and she knew Shane's eye was forever on him.

Shane had been her saviour in the time of need; she had gotten her, Carl and even her best friend Paula out of the city before the horde made their way through. She had always thought of Shane as a good guy since she met him in high school whilst she was dating Rick.

Her heart clenched as she thought of Rick, she instinctively checked for Carl only to see him in same spot he was in before, playing cards with Sophia in the dining area of the RV, Shane was driving but soon it would be Ed's turn, although his skills at being a human being can be questioned he was at least another pair of hands.

"Lori... Hello?" a voice brought her out of her daydream; she turned to see Carol looking at her from behind the driver's seat on the couch.

"Oh sorry Carol I was in a world of my own." She said with a reassuring smile, she saw the fragile woman smile as well.

"Um I just wanted to ask do you have any food left at all in your pack?" she asked delicately, Lori grabbed the camping bag from the foot well, the only one she recovered from the car amongst the chaos. She rummaged inside it but found only some clothes and family photos. She had met Carol and her husband Ed with daughter Sophia when they were stopped at the barracks leading into Atlanta, the only real reason they had stuck with the threesome is because Carl had taken a 'shine' to Sophia. They stayed together and they even followed Shane, Lori and Paula when they said they were going back to King County since their own hometown had been destroyed. Carol looked liked years of marriage to this man had worn her down and the daughter looked skinnier than Carl.

"Damn… Nope I got nothing Carol. What about you?" she asked Paula in the seat opposite Carol, the woman flicked her medium length red hair out of her face and looked in the cupboard next to her.

"No I don't have anything." She said simply. Lori looked at Carol who shook her head and realised how little food they really had. She looked at Shane beside her and gave him a tap on the arm.

"Shane?" she asked, the main woke from a daydream and tore his eyes away from the devoid of life highway.

"Yeah Lori?"

"We gotta make a food stop soon… we barely have anything left." She said, she saw the worry in Shane's eyes as he checked something on the dashboard.

"We need gas as well… We best stop at the next gas station; I saw a sign back there saying there was one in ten miles. Lucky us." He said, Lori nearly scoffed at the choice of words.

Lucky.

I think the words lucky was a bit of a stretch, the dead coming back to life really closed off all options of the word lucky being put to good use anymore.

"Well we better decide who is going in." Paula said from the seat behind.

"Agreed. Me and Ed will lead the charge and you girls can fill up." He said briefly but Lori talked over him.

"The men leading the charge? No offence but I think Ed won't be keen to help, I say you, me and Paula go in and search. Ed can fill up the RV and Carol can keep an eye out for walkers." She proposed and she saw Shane think it over.

"Fine but I want you carrying the pistol, Paula you can take the machete in with you." He said in a final tone, Lori saw the woman turn pale but nod. She didn't blame Paula for being scared.

Hell they all were at this point.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O

The RV pulled to a halt outside of the gas station, it looked dead from the outside but in a week or two Paula had come to realise that the walkers came in different varieties, there were the obvious ones that attacked head on, but then you got the sneaky ones that waited until you had your back turned then pounced, those were the ones Paula was afraid of.

"Right now you guys listen to me now." Shane began to speak and Paula began to listen, she had known Shane as an acquaintance for several years now and she knew when he started giving orders you listened, "Me, Lori and Paula are going in for supplies. Carol I want you on the roof looking out for walkers, you see any heading out way then I want you to get Ed to beep the horn 3 times. Ed I want you filling the gas tank up she takes Diesel, keep an eye out yourself you're no use to us dead. Kids stay in the RV at all times _no _getting out unless you have to understand?" he turned to the boy and girl who both nodded vigorously; he then turned to Lori and handed her the pistol from his side belt.

"Oh Shane I don't know if I can…" she said quietly before he spoke over her again.

"Don't worry it ain't difficult. Just aim for the head and fire when one of them tries to eat you." He said with a dry tone, Paula saw the woman give the man a sly smile and hold the pistol by her side as she hugged her son and told him to stay inside, she thought of her dear baby Freya… how much she wanted her Tom back to protect her… She needed her family back _so _badly…

"Paula!" Shane shouted and the woman was brought back abruptly from her daydream.

"Sorry… Yes?" she asked and a machete was thrust into her hands.

"Try not to scream if you see anything but give us a shout, try not to draw more though ok?" he said and Paula nodded, she needed to be focused, she needed to get back to her husband and her baby girl soon before she went crazy with concern. She shouldered the empty camping bags and held the machete tightly.

"Ok guys move out!" he shouted and Paula saw Carl and Sophia climb back inside the RV, Ed pick up a fuel pump and Carol climb on top of the RV with a pair of binoculars. She turned to see the doors of the gas station swing open as Shane raised his shotgun and Lori raised her pistol whilst stepping inside, Paula right behind them machete held high. She heard her brain screaming at her not to walk in there but she knew she had little to no choice in the matter.

She was gonna have to face her fears head on.


	2. Baby's First Gunshot

_Sorry forgot to mention in previous chaptr before it was to late that I do not own any properties of The Walking Dead and all of the characters are actually imported from the show so there are no OC's here. So don't whinge because the disclaimer is in here._

Chapter 2:

Baby's First Gunshot

Lori didn't like guns, Rick always came home with his in his belt and she would say to him to put it in the cabinet upstairs before he did anything else. She had seen those 60 Minutes stories about kids getting their hands on the parent's guns and accidently shooting the cat or one of their friends.

She held the pistol Shane gave her shakily; she held it in front of her eye line as they walked slowly through the station taking a aisle each. Once or twice she had seen Rick's gun on top of the cabinet and had just held it and pretended to aim it and whatnot but she had never fired one in her life.

"Ok guys grab anything that looks edible or drinkable alright?" Shane said once they had cleared the area, the place looked like it had already been cleaned out but there were odd packets of food here or there that looked good. Lori took a bag from Paula and began packing things in, Spam and Starburst where the only things left, she saw Shane pick up some odd bottles of water, Coca-Cola or anything drinkable.

Lori thought back to the days when she could go to the local Costco and stock up for the week, probably run into Janice who is a cashier and talk to her about her boys Roger and Louis. Those days were probably over now… she had seen people she knew turn into walkers and chase down the living… seen Shane pump rounds into those she had once called her friends.

She shook the thoughts from her head and shoved a can of tomato soup into the pack, as she did so she heard a noise coming from the back of the store, a slow shuffle of footsteps.

"Shane…" she said softly, he looked at her and listened, he nodded and shouldered the shotgun moving to the origin of the sound. Paula appeared next to her.

"What is it?" she asked in a soft and shaky voice.

"I heard something from the back of the store." Lori explained, Paula look frightened and Lori saw her grip her machete tighter. She was in half her mind to send Paula back to the RV with the food they had but she couldn't stand to be alone.

Her thoughts were cut off by a groaning behind them, they both turned and Paula screamed loudly as they saw an awful sight. A man with his left cheek bitten clean off was shuffling towards them, they both stood and stepped backwards and Lori raised her pistol and aimed at the man's face… she couldn't pull the trigger though.

"Lori…" Paula whimpered.

"SHANE!" Lori screamed, her screams were answered by shotgun sounds from the back of the store and Lori guessed he was cut off, the man quickened his pace and Lori felt the wall press up behind her, the man was nearly on top of them when her brain slid into gear and her finger closed over the trigger.

The gunshot stunned her ears for a second as the man's head exploded, the ringing sound stayed in her ears until she heard Carol shouting from outside.

"Lori! Paula! Shane! There are walkers coming!" Lori looked outside to see Ed bumbling around holding an axe and Carol dismounting from the RV. Lori saw Shane appear from a Staff Only door and run away whilst reloading.

"Come on!" he yelled and Lori's legs began to work again as they propelled her forwards, she held onto the bag for dear life as she saw Shane and Paula exit the store she turned back to see the Staff Only door burst open and walkers begin to spill out, 10…20…30… Lori didn't bother to count as she twisted on the spot and ran for the already started RV.

"Lori come on!" Paula screamed as Lori lumped into the RV and fell heavily on the floor. She felt the RV begin to move and turn and heard the thumping of walkers skulls against the hood as they picked up speed. She hugged Carl as she regained her breath.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O

"Everybody ok?" Shane asked, and everyone said yes as a chorus until Paula spoke.

"No…" she said softly and barrelled towards the RV's toilet, for an awful second Lori thought Paula had been bitten until she heard the splatter of vomit hitting the inside of the basin.

Lori looked back to the others and saw them grimace.

"Ew!" Carl said loudly, Lori motherly instincts kicked back into action.

"Carl be quiet." She scolded and the kid sat back down next to Sophia as she hugged her mother. Lori sat next to Shane who was checking his ammunition and she felt a tear roll down her cheek, he noticed.

"You ok?" he asked quietly so the rest of the group couldn't hear. Lori wiped her eyes and face and told Shane what was on her mind. She withdrew the pistol as she said it.

"I killed a walker Shane. When you started firing one came for me and Paula and it nearly got us… I couldn't help but think about his life before all this…" she said with a quivering voice, she saw Shane looking intently at her.

"Lori I told you before not to humanise them… They may have been people once but they are dead now. You can't let them get to you like that…" he started to explain.

"He's right you know. Can't let no dumb, dead bastards get us." Ed interrupted from the front, his driving wasn't exactly smooth and neither was his voice.

"Hey Ed let's watch the mouth ok?" Shane warned, the fat man just scoffed.

"Ah come on! People eating people and want me to mind my fuckin' language?" he said loudly and Lori saw Carol and Sophia shift uncomfortably in their seats, apparently Ed's foul mouth and temper wasn't a rare occurrence.

"We would appreciate it Ed, for both my son and your daughter." Lori said bitterly, God this man harboured no love or concern for his own child's well fair.

"Ah hell don't worry about it you kids fine ain't ya?" Ed asked the children behind him, they both squeaked out a 'yes' at the same time. Lori felt the anger bubbling inside of her.

"You wanna shut up Ed? I think it would help everybody here." Shane said in his tougher sounding voice. Ed just scoffed and faced the road and continued driving.

Lori sat back in her seat and tried to forget about the tension in the air around her. The only thing that punctuated it was the sound of Paula's vomiting in the RV's toilet.

"I am not emptying that." Carl said quietly causing everyone to start laughing clearing the tension in the air. The sun had started to set and they needed to find a place to stay, suddenly a road sign came into view.

Farrow Heights Motel - 15 Miles.

"Looks like we have a place to stay." Shane said and suddenly all the hours of the day landed on top of Lori's mind.

She needed to sleep.


	3. Don't Judge a Motel by it's Car Park

_Disclaimer: Once I again I own nothing to do with the walking dead since all the characters I am using are from the TV Series._

Chapter 3:

Don't Judge a Motel by its Car Park

Once Paula felt the last contents of her stomach force their way out of her mouth she stepped back outside of the toilet and took a seat next to Lori, everyone looked at her like she had just screamed bloody murder.

"You ok?" Lori asked her and she felt reluctant to speak, the taste of vomit fresh on her tongue.

"Yeah… Just needed to get it out." She said, she saw Lori cringe a bit and withdraw some chewing gum from her pocket.

"Been keeping this since Atlanta, seems now is the time to use it." She said slyly and handed a strip to Paula, she unwrapped it and began chewing, enjoying the sensation of fresh mintiness covering the foul taste of stomach acid.

"Thanks I needed that." Paula said breathing a sigh of relief, as she did so she licked her lips and realised just how dry and cracked they were from dehydration. "Hey did anyone grab some water?" she asked the RV, Shane responded.

"Yeah a couple of packs, you want water or Coke?" he asked picking up and opening his backpack, Paula felt queasy at even the thought of sugar entering her body.

"Water please." She was handed the water and she unscrewed the bottle, the cool liquid easing down her throat and quenching her thirst. She took a moment to look at everyone properly since the ordeal. Ed was driving in a world of his own, going straight on the highway dodging the occasional abandoned car. Carol looked paler than usual and slightly tired out, climbing a car and yelling must've exhausted the weaker woman.

Carl and Sophia were fine, reverted back to their original state completely as they played cards like nothing happened, lost in childish babble. Paula looked to her right and saw Shane take seat next to Ed as Lori stared off into space, although it had only been 5 or 10 minutes since the scavenge the woman seemed different. As far as Paula knew that was her first walker kill… Paula herself still had to reach that particular milestone…

The thoughts of flesh blood and bite wounds crept back into her mind and she felt the bile creep back up her throat, she bit it back down. Although these people knew by now she wasn't exactly impressive she didn't want to give them any more incentive for reasonable doubt.

"Hey guys… look like we got our motel right here." Ed mused from the front seat, Paula and the others turned to see a fairly shabby looking motel look into the distance off of the highway, with sunlight fading fast it looked like this was the best option.

The RV pulled into the parking lot and it seemed like there were others here, although there were no lights there were two fully stocked cars waiting to go but no one in them.

"We are gonna have to clear this place you know." Shane said from the other front seat, Lori glanced a worried look to her son in the opposite seat.

"Same plan as before? You, me, Paula and maybe Ed go in and check the place whilst Carol keeps a lookout and keeps an eye on the kids?" Lori asks, Shane nods.

"Sounds like a plan. You up for it?" Paula took a moment before realising he was asking her, he was looking at her through suspicious eyes.

"Me? Oh yeah…sure…" she trailed off when he held the glare.

"You definitely sure? Cause I can't have you freezing up at all or you might get yourself killed, maybe you wanna stay on lookout duty with Carol?" he asked in a concerned voice, Paula felt a bubble of irritation that came out in her voice when she answered.

"I am sure Shane, give me the machete and I will prove it." She said in a slightly more fierce tone than she was aiming for, the man held up his hands in mock defeat as Ed put the handbrake on and grabbed the axe he was waving around earlier.

"Let's do this shit." He said gruffly.

"Let's go." Shane said, Lori and Paula both bit back warnings to Ed for his language as they followed Shane out of the camper door wielding their weapons, ready for another possible confrontation with the living dead.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carl sat patiently in the RV next to Sophia, he was feeling annoyed that his mom was leaving him inside the RV _again. _It was bad enough she did it once before but doing it again? It annoyed Carl because he wanted to help.

Then again staying away from walkers is something he wanted to do more.

"Are you scared of the walkers?" Sophia asked out of the blue as they played what felt like the hundredth game of Go Fish. Carl had to think his answer over in his head.

"Sorta. Like I ain't scared of them because they are dangerous, it's because they're dead." He said, she looked at him with one eyebrow raised and Carl knew she saw through the lie.

"It's ok, I'm scared of them as well. I don't like them at all…" she trailed off looking at her cards before coming back, "Do you have an 8?"

"Go Fish."

"Damn…" she picked up a card from the pile. Carl continued with the conversation.

"It's not that I'm scared of them really… I've just never seen one up close." He said and she looked at him with slight disbelief.

"You have never seen one up close?" she asked in wonderment, Carl felt a bit embarrassed and felt himself flush.

"Well I have seen walkers before but I ain't never touched one or been near one. Have you?" He said feeling more stupid with every word that left his mouth.

"I saw plenty up close on my way here, when we were coming to Atlanta one actually grabbed me!" she said, the game lost on the both of them now.

"No way!"

"Way!"

"It touched you?"

"On my shoulder."

A few moments of silence passed between them.

"What did it feel like?" Carl asked curiously, he knew she probably didn't want to talk about it but he had to know more about them. She looked nervous at the question.

"Um… like a regular person but cold I guess…" she said shyly, suddenly the exclusivity and wonder behind being touched by a walker wasn't so grand. Carl pondered on the thought for a second and asked the question he had put off before but it came back time and time again since he first met her.

"Do you like your parents? Cuz you never really talk to either of them…" he asked sheepishly, he saw her face turn bright red and the words that left her mouth were barely audible.

"Um… my Mom is really nice, she bakes cookies and keeps the house clean and all that and Dad earns money I guess…" she said turning brighter, obviously she _really _didn't want to talk about them. Carl felt himself turn a little red and began to change the subject when he heard a gunshot from the motel which made his heart stop dead.


	4. Pray They Were Dead

Chapter 4:

Pray They Were Dead

Lori stepped out of the RV holding the gun Shane gave her back somewhat reluctantly, she hated how much she had to put her life in danger, she knew Shane and Paula were caring people but they weren't Carl's mother and if she died he would be all alone… He already lost his father… He wasn't going to lose her.

She held the gun outwards as she walked alongside Shane towards the front office.

"Ready?" Shane asked them, everyone nodded and he opened the front door slowly, he pointed the shotgun through and looked inside before giving the 'all-clear' signal. Lori and Paula walked through as Ed came in behind them.

"What's the plan then Supercop?" Ed said sarcastically, Lori saw Shane glare at the ball of uselessness and bite back a retort; he looked at the women and spoke what they were all thinking.

"We're gonna have to split up to make sure we are alone here." He said grim, Lori's insides froze and it sounded like Paula's did as well.

"Oh no, no, no I ain't going out there by myself! I've never killed one by myself before." She complained in a shaky voice, Lori saw the poor woman turn pale which was only worsened by her orange hair.

"Don't worry you won't be alone I was gonna suggest pairs of two." Shane said and he looked at Ed and spoke firmly.

"Ed I want you with Paula, now you hear me you are going to protect her ok." He said very firmly, Lori saw the fat man scoff.

"Hell no, I ain't gonna look after some housewife." He grunted, Lori saw the anger flash in Shane's eyes.

"Well you are taking her or you're going by yourself and no-one is going anywhere alone!" he said growing louder with every word, Ed rose to the challenge.

"You deaf? I said I ain't babysitting some woman who can't look after herself!" Ed grew louder as well, Lori felt the tension rising as she glanced around her, they were gonna draw walkers with this arguing.

"Guys can't we just…" Paula began but was cut off by Shane.

"Look you gotta start listening to me or we gonna leave you behind you know, I hold no loyalties to you or your family!" He yelled louder his face growing red. Lori took charge.

"Shane! Be quiet, you're gonna draw walkers!" Lori seethed and the man looked at her and she saw his features slacken as he realised, Ed began to retort but Lori cut him off as well.

"Ed just shut up!" she seethed and he fell silent, although the look on his face was akin to that of rage.

"Well what do you say we do then your Highness?" he commented sarcastically, Lori scowled and spoke directly to him.

"You are gonna go and check the rooms on the left of the office and I will go with you. Here." She hands the gun to Ed, she hears Shane make a sound of disapproval and step forward.

"I don't think you should go with him Lori." He said quietly to her but loud enough for Ed to hear. Lori reasoned with him.

"Shane you can't let Paula go with him after he said that and if you two go together you will rip each other apart. Trust me on this he ain't gonna hurt me." Lori said firmly, she could tell Shane had no love for this plan but she saw his features soften as he conceded defeat to Lori's plan.

"Fine. But if he does anything to you you give me a shout and I will come running." Shane said, Lori nodded and walked over to Ed and takes the axe from his hand, she looks at Paula who was chalk white next to her and gives her a hug.

"Don't worry darling, just stay behind Shane and do what he says ok." She said and the poor woman nodded, Lori could tell Paula harboured no love for this chore. Lori didn't either… not only was she recklessly endangering her life but she was endangering Carl's, with her gone he would be lonely, sure he would have Shane, Paula, Carol and Sophia for company but he needs a mother, and this was no place for a woman with kids to be, Paula needed to make it back to her husband and daughter and this would not be helping.

Ed walked in front of her completely ignoring her, one by one he walked into the rooms with the gun aloft and she would follow axe in hand. The idea was that if there was a stray walker Lori would hand Ed the axe and he would end it quietly, if there was more than one then he would shoot and she would be ready to crack skulls.

After the 5th empty room Lori decided conversation was worth a try.

"So… Ed. How long you and Carol been together?" she asked, the innocent question earned her a scowl but an answer nonetheless.

"Hell should I know? I don't count the days now do I?" he answered roughly, Lori knew that was the meatsack's way of saying "I don't know'. Couldn't even say that nicely…

"Fair enough, just wondering that's all…" an awkward silence followed as Ed checked the bathroom, Lori fiddled with the axe when she heard a thump in the next room, the last room on the floor.

"Ed."

"What?" he answered roughly,

"I heard something in the next room." She said tentatively, Ed came out and scowled; he raised the gun and strode past her.

"I'll get the fucker then." The man pushed the door open and marched to the next room, Lori jogged after him.

"Ed wait! We have to use the axe." She said but he paid no attention to her and kicked the final door open, the wave of stench hit Lori hard and she retched, the smell was akin to that of a dead whale. The source came from a man on the floor, his guts coating the walker that was raising its head of his entrails, the walker was possibly a young girl once… However now it was a ghostly shadow of a woman.

"Hey bitch!" Ed taunted and raised the gun and aimed as the walker began to stand, before Lori could shout 'NO!' he fired and the walkers head exploded, the dead brain matter flying in all directions. The sound made Lori jump, she and Ed stood frozen for a minute before the buffoon spoke up.

"You see 'er head go?! Wooo that bitch popped!" he remarked obscenely, Lori turned to him disgusted before letting loose.

"You idiot! We were supposed to be quiet for a reason! Every walker in a mile probably heard that you dumb ape!" Lori shouted, Ed towered over her.

"You got a problem with that?" he asked threateningly, Lori nearly backed down when a noise came from the doorway, Shane stood there holding his shotgun to Ed with a timid looking Paula standing behind him brandishing the machete.

"What the hell you doin' Ed?!" Shane shouted, still holding the shotgun aloft, "You trying to get us eaten?!" he grew red, the fat man held up his hands and let the gun drop, Paula came out from behind Shane and picked it up awkwardly before jumping back from Ed.

"Hey just doin' whacha told me to do. Killin' walkers." He answered his threatening aura diminishing. Lori stepped in.

"Shane just leave it ok? Guy can't help it if he is an idiot." She threw a dirty look at him which he returned, a though entered her head at that moment.

"Carol. Paula go to the RV and tell Carol everything is alright." She ordered the woman, she nodded and ran out the door carrying the gun with her, Lori was in half a mind to go with her to see Carl but she wasn't going to leave Shane and Ed alone in a room together. Shane was still seething as he lowered the gun and Ed lowered his hands, eying the weapon nervously.

"So what now Supercop?" he asked Shane, the man held his gaze but dropped it when he turned to see Lori still there.

"We camp out in the rooms tonight. If we are lucky the walkers that are attracted by the gunshot will clear out by morning after they find no food, there are clean rooms on the other side and we only need two. One for the men and one for the women." He said firmly, Lori didn't like the plan of staying put but they didn't have anywhere else to go.

This was it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carol sat on top of the RV for the second time that day and she was freezing despites the cardigan over her shirt. She heard the noises of two kids talking beneath her in the RV as she looked over the rest of the car park. They had 'commandeered' the RV back in Atlanta, the owner had obviously abandoned it when the road had clogged but it had a half-full tank and worked perfectly so they took it, idiot had even left the keys in the ignition.

The car park was growing darker as sunlight was failing them, the motels curved structure ensured that they could only be seen from the other side of the parking lot; Carol still didn't like the idea of being in the open though and decided to keep low by sitting down, she wanted to go back inside and watch from there but she was worried Ed would get mad at her.

And she knew how Ed got when he was mad.

Man was a pig but she couldn't leave him, he was the kind of guy that would find her and drag her back. Besides, if she did things right there wouldn't be any trouble… Ed was a charming man underneath all the layers of… well… his personality.

She couldn't explain why she loved him, she didn't so much anymore but she took a vow on her wedding day to stay by this man, for better and for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health and all that. She wouldn't be the one to abandon him, plus she couldn't risk the chance of Sophia being stuck with him, only Carol's firm hold on her daughter kept her from her father's greasy grasp.

She saw Shane and Paula climb the stairs and start checking rooms, her family had gotten lucky when they joined Shane's group, he was a true leader and came equipped with weapons, something the Peletier's lacked, he held the shotgun aloft as he swept the room one by one, Paula stood outside awkwardly and waved to Carol in a spare moment, Carol returned the wave awkwardly, Ed would have told her off for that but Ed wasn't here. He was on the other side with Lori out of view by the looks of things.

Her moment of self-reflection was brought to a shuddering halt by a gunshot ringing out. Her insides froze and she saw Shane and Paula come to a halt in their last room, she saw Shane barrel past Paula and sprint across the balcony holding the shotgun aloft with Paula close behind him. Carol was in half a mind to get in the RV and drive around to Ed and Lori's side but decided to stay, if there were walkers she didn't want to endanger the kids. Speaking of which….

"Mom!" came a shout from the door, Sophia and Carl were awkwardly hanging out of the door looking up at her, they were huddled together and obviously scared.

"Go back inside the RV sweetie everything is ok." Carol said, the children looked at each other and retreated inside the RV but Carol grew more nervous. What had happened? Had Lori or Ed been bitten? Had someone attacked them? Oh God… Had Ed lost his patience with Lori and shot her? Carol knew Ed had some issues but he wouldn't be that violent surely…

She waited for several minutes in a tense stand, half her mind was still looking for walkers whilst the other half was in a state of total fear. Suddenly a figure emerged from a staircase and ran for the RV, it was Paula, she was carrying a gun and running fast, she looked very pale and scared and spoke in a blur of words.

"Everything's fine… Ed shot a walker but he shouldn't have done so Shane was really angry, I took the gun off him but things looked tense when I left… I don't know the plan or anything but I think we are staying because there were several clean rooms we could use I suppose but I don't know…" she trailed off, Carol breathed a sigh of relief at the words '_everything's fine_' but she had tensed again when she heard that Shane and Ed had argued again. She was about to ask how things looked for Ed but she saw a figure off near the staircase, she saw Lori waving at them and beckoning them over.

"Ok get inside the RV Paula I am taking it up to the staircase." Paula nodded and climbed in as Carol followed her, Carol sat down in the seat and took control of the RV, she drove it cautiously over to the staircase and parked it nearby. She motioned for the kids to get out whilst she put on the handbrake and left it here, Paula led Carl and Sophia over to where Shane and Ed where standing, Carol and Lori followed.

"Ok this is how it is, Lori, Carol, Paula and Sophia are staying in this room here," he motioned to a room with an en-suite, "and me, Ed, and Carl will sleep in this room here." He said firmly, Ed looked annoyed but made no argument… Thank God.

"Shane I would rather Carl stayed with me…" Lori said next to him, Carol also kind of agreed, she was in no mood for Ed and Shane to share a room.

"Well what do you propose Lori?" Shane asked openly, Carol saw the annoyance in his eyes; Lori did have a way of disagreeing with Shane… Often.

"How about this? There are 3 good rooms here, unused. Carl, you and I can take this one here, Paula, Carol and Sophia can take the one next to us and Ed can take the 3rd one." She suggested, Carol didn't like this too much but was enjoying the idea with no Ed in the room. Too many times at home would he come into bed with her after a night of drinking and be would be to handsy.

"Sounds good I suppose." Ed said darkly, he picked up the axe and walked off; he entered the room and slammed the door behind him. He always was a sore loser. Carol saw Shane make a face of frustration before turning to the rest of the group.

"Anybody got anything you wanna get out of the RV?" he asked openly, Carol didn't need anything really, except her and Sophia's sleep wear was in there.

"Yes mine and Sophia's bed clothes." She said quietly.

"Ours too." Lori said.

"Ok go and get it, darkness is nearly upon us and I don't want anybody out in the dark. The walkers who heard the gunshot must be making a beeline for us." He said darkly, after the events of today everyone was worn, even the energetic Carl and Sophia looked ready to fall asleep on the ground beneath them. Carol and Lori retrieved the bags with their clothes in them, Lori entered the room with Shane and Carl as Carol entered the room next to them. Paula and Sophia where playing rock-paper-scissors on the bed, the novelty of go-fish seemed to have worn off in the RV.

"Sophia honey go into the bathroom and get changed darling." Carol said unzipping the bad and handing Sophia her nightie; the girl entered the bathroom (only after Carol and Paula checked just in case) and closed the door. Carol then changed alongside Paula, both women turning away as the other changed for considerations sake.

"You wanna take the bed?" Paula asked once they had changed, "You and Sophia can sleep there and I can take the sofa."

"Oh you're too kind." Carol said but accepted, Paula smiled and took a blanket out of the bag, she layed back on the sofa and draped the blanket over herself leaving the gun nearby. Due to there being no men in the room Shane had left Paula the gun she had carried just in case the walkers found them.

Sophia came out of the bathroom looking tired, she lay down under the covers of the bed (cue a bed-check by her mother) and before Carol had even covered herself up with the blanket fell asleep.

Carol looked at her daughter and smiled, she was lucky the little girl made it so far in this world. If there was one thing Carol couldn't stand the thought of it was her little Sophia falling prey to the undead… She thought of people where she was just outside King County, she remembered how many walkers were there… She had seen people being eaten alive, screaming but with no-one helping them… She thought of her friends and family, she imagined each one of them dead and rotting before she could stop the images.

If they weren't safe in this world they would fall prey to the horrors of the walkers… Even though Carol prayed in her head they were alive and safe she couldn't help but pray, just quietly to herself, that if they were in any pain or if they were suffering… She couldn't help but pray they were dead.


	5. Back in King County

_Just to clear confusion this chapter is set on the same day as chapters 1-4 and takes off after the 1__st__ Season Webisodes._

_Just wanted to say thanks to my reviewers and I hope you guys like the new additions _

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its by-products_

Chapter 5:

Back in King County…

Hannah saw the body slump next to her as her heart stopped pounding.

"Lady! Hey Lady!" the man's cries fell on her ears as she continued to stare at the body; it had nearly bitten her… She had nearly become one of them…

"LADY!" Hannah was bought roughly back to reality as the voice pounded into her ear. She nearly screamed as she turned quickly and saw the man staring at her. He was dark-skinned, bald and looked in his 40's, next to him was a dark-skinned child, possibly his son.

"What?!" she yelled back, surprised by her own actions she nearly apologised but he spoke over her.

"We gotta move, they're all over and they heard my gunshot, I have a hideout come on." He said simply, Hannah remembered the walkers all around her and her children; they looked at her scared as Jamie stared at the man's son. The man grabbed Hannah by the arm and tried to drag her in the opposite direction to her destination.

"No…wait!" she broke free of his grasp as he stared at her.

"Come on!" he yelled.

"No! Didn't you hear the helicopter?! They are picking up survivors nearby!" she yelled, the man looked around distressed as the kids stood by nervously as the walkers closed in.

"They ain't trust me, I was there hours ago it is overrun!" he yelled and Hannah froze, the pick-up point was gone and she had lead her kids into danger.

"Where do we go?" she asked him, he grabbed her arm again and gestured towards a street across the park.

"Across the park, I spray painted a red X on the fence out front of the house, it is on Anglia Street on the left side, three blue cars next to each other near the house, take the kids ahead I will cover the rear, try not to shoot." He said in a rapid tone, Hannah processed the information and looked at her kids, Jamie and Billy were looking at the approaching walkers, one was only four strides away… Hannah insides froze again when she recognised who it was… It was Kassi Temple, the local Girl Guide leader. The man who saved her stepped forward and pressed the gun to her temple and fired, Hannah gasped as Kassi's brains spread themselves over the road.

"Run!" the man yelled, Hannah drew her gun and used her other arm to coral Jamie and Billy to her and pushed them forward, they ran across the park, away from the walkers, Hannah checked over her shoulder to see the man and his son several strides behind, in front of her her kids were running fast, Billy's little legs competing to keep up with her older sisters more developed ones.

They reached the end of the park and carried on running across the roads, the walkers weren't as many in this street which made Hannah feel safer, there were only two on Anglia Street, one seemed to move faster as it made a beeline for Jamie. Hannah stepped in front of her daughter and aimed her ex-husband's gun at the stocky man, as she lined the shot she pulled the trigger they man's head exploded as he fell backwards and slumped to the ground.

"Mom!" Jamie yelled and Hannah looked to see her pointing at the three blue cars near the fallen corpse, Hannah saw the red X on the fence. As she moved forward the man who saved her sprinted in front of her and kicked the gate open as he turned and fired another shot, Hannah heard a body slump behind her as the man son followed him up the path. She pressed her children after her as the followed close behind, when she reached the now open front door she turned to see nothing but dead walkers, however the vision didn't last as she was pulled roughly inside as the door shut in front of her.

There were a few moments of tentative silence as everyone stood by the door breathing heavily.

"What's your name?" the man asked and Hannah answered.

"Hannah and this is..." she answered but the young boy talked over her.

"…Jamie and Billy. I know them from school." The boy said, she looked at her daughter and the young girl turned to her mother.

"He's Duane Jones. He is in my class at school." She answered simply.

"And I'm Morgan Jones, my wife is upstairs but she ain't feeling up to talking..." He explained, Hannah was glad to finally have names for the faces but frowned when she saw the look exchanged between Morgan and Duane. However she didn't lament on it as she began to realise something, something that had been driven out of her mind by their mad dash for safety, the horrible truth.

There was nowhere to go.

"Kids why don't you take your things somewhere? You got somewhere we can sleep?" Hannah asked Morgan, she nodded and spoke to Duane.

"Duane you wanna take Jamie and Billy to the back room?" he said and his son nodded, he walked out and her kids followed him. She turned to Morgan, time to talk.

"Ok what's going on? There are people eating people out there and today alone I shot one 'walker' and axed my ex-husbands bitch of a wife in the face… You got answers?" she asked, she saw the man brown furrow as he sat down on the sofa, he looked stressed… as though the stresses and strains of the day were taking its toll.

"At the FEMA Outpost at the high school, which is gone by the way, one guy told me that it was some kind of infection spread through bites… Killed the victim and caused them to come back and eat the living…" he explained, Hannah thought the idea was stupid… the living dead? Sounded like the by-product of a tacky Sci-Fi show.

"So wait what do you mean gone?" she asked, the man's face darkened as he spoke in a harsh voice.

"I mean there were walkers there and they were eating people, by the time me and my family escaped the whole place was swarming with them… You could barely tell the infected from the un-infected…" his face darkened more and Hannah knew he was hiding something; however she didn't follow up as he continued talking.

"Anyway… It is around 5 o'clock now… That means we have only a few hours of daylight… Maybe I dunno… We are gonna have to go out for food tomorrow, the couple that used to live here took all the food with them. Unless you think you can live of soy sauce and chickpeas." It took Hannah a moment to realise he was joking, she smiled as the first real joke of the day passed, she realised she would have to go back out there tomorrow.

"I dunno if I can go back out there Morgan…" she said honestly, the man looked at her and smiled.

"Don't worry about it… I used to cook for the family sometimes, I can knock something together for a day or two but I don't think the kids will go for it. You go when you're ready ok?" He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulders and stood up, "Anyway I am gonna go and check on Jenny, my wife… She hasn't been coping with this to well… Can't talk to anyone. See you for dinner yes? Keep the noise and light down and keep the kids quiet." He said as he walked up the stairs, Hannah was left sitting on the sofa as the kids walked back in.

"Where's Dad going?" Duane asked Hannah, she answered honestly.

"Oh your Dad is just checking on your Mom, how is she doing? He said she was in shock or something." Duane's face darkened in the same manner as his Dad's when she asked, next to him Jamie bit her lip and Hannah knew when her daughter wanted to say something.

"Jamie what is it?" she asked her daughter, Jamie looked at Duane who shook his head.

"No…" he said.

"We need to tell her." Jamie argued, she saw Duane's eyes tear up.

"What is it?" Hannah asked her daughter firmly, now Billy looked worried as he spoke up.

"Duane's mom was bitten."


	6. Kid's Awake

Chapter 6:

Kids Awake

Carl didn't know where he was, the building was old and decrepit and looked like it had been set on fire at some point. Carl trod carefully… fearful that the floor would give way and he would fall though.

"Mom? Shane? Paula?" he called through the house, he heard his voice echo before he heard a bang from down the stairs.

He hit the bottom floor and looked through the house, he saw loads of expensive looking china figures and paintings, Carl didn't recognise the place at all but he was focused on the origin of the noise.

Carl followed the noise and slowly walked back into the hallway, he heard the same noise coming from just beside the front door, he reached out and felt the knob and he twisted it and was greeted by his father standing in the doorway.

"Carl…" he whispered as he knelt down, Carl tackled him at top speed and gave him a big hug.

"DAD! I thought you were dead! Mom said you died!" he said in his father's ear, his father's grip on him tightened and Carl returned the pressure, he felt safe in his Dad's arms once more and he never wanted to let him go again.

"Well son… your Mom is right." He said in a rough voice, Carl's insides froze as he pulled away from his Dad and looked him in the face, except it wasn't his face anymore but that of a walker that looked like his Dad. The left eye was hanging by a gooey thread and the skin around the mouth was missing and dripping blood, the eyes were bloodshot as he emitted a loud screech. Carl screamed and tried to run away but his father grabbed onto him tighter as he dragged Carl back to him, Carl cried out and sobbed as he tried to pull away but his Dad's grip tightened, he climbed on top of Carl and bit hard into his neck.

The whole world jumped as Carl opened his eyes, he nearly screamed before he realised where he was, in the bed at the motel. He felt hot tears stream his face and mix with the cold sweat but he fought the rest back. He was a big boy now… nearly 12, past the age where he could cry to his Mom and get a comforting hug.

Come to think of it…

The space next to him where his Mom should be was empty, the covers flung back. Carl nearly called out to Shane but he saw the empty space on the couch where he should be. For a terrifying minute he thought the left him there… but he knew his Mom would never do that to him.

Carl climbed out of the bed slowly, trying not to make any noise; he heard faint voices coming from the en-suite and deduced his Mom and Shane were in there. He pressed his ear to the door and the voices became clearer.

"Shane I don't know if we can keep going…" his mother fretted but Shane talked over her.

"Lori we promised Paula we would; besides I know we left food and supplies at your house and Carl wants to go there." Carl tensed at the mention of his name.

"I don't want to put him in danger…"

"You won't. I will protect him you know I will."

"But what happens if you die, or if I die? He has lost his dad I don't want him to loose us as well."

"You know I don't want to lose you either… Lori you know how much I care about him… and how much I care about you..."

"Shane don't! Not know!"

"It's true though Lor…"

The conversation had happened in less than 12 seconds but Carl already felt like he shouldn't be listening to this conversation, he pushed away from the door and crept back to the bed and climbed inside the covers. He thought of a life without Shane or his Mom… He would have to stay with Paula, Carol, Sophia and unfortunately Ed… He remembered his Dad for the second time that night and felt the bubble of fear and sadness expand within him. He had gotten over the crying a day after he heard his Dad was dead but it still burned within him.

He heard the voices die down and the door open slowly; Carl closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep as he felt his Mom climb into bed beside him.

He thought about what he heard but decided not to think too much about it… He wanted to sleep since he knew he would be tired the next day if he didn't sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sophia hated it when she was the first person to wake up, it wasn't that bed when she was at home but whenever she was at an aunty or uncle's house or at a friend's house she would have to wait awkwardly until somebody else wakes up until she could do anything.

She looked to her left and saw her Mom fast asleep, it had been years since Sophia had slept in the same bed as her, her Mom always told her not to come into her room when her Dad was home since he didn't like being woken up. On the couch Paula was asleep was well, Sophia hadn't really spoken to her properly since they met but she seemed nice when they placed rock-paper-scissors on the bed the night before.

Sophia slipped out the bed quietly, she tip-toed to the covered window and checked outside, the parking lot was completely clear and Sophia felt a bit sick, she wanted to open the window but she looked down to see a lock on the latch… Why the motel would lock it was beyond her but she needed air to settle her upset tummy.

Sophia quickly changed into her day clothes she wore the day before, if she was caught she didn't want to be in her frilly, white nightie.

She looked behind her to her Mom, she didn't want to wake her up and she would only be outside for a few minutes. She unlocked the door quietly and opened it; she grabbed a table-cloth off the side and used it to keep the door open. She looked around her nervous but there was no-one outside at all, it seemed that the walkers hadn't come like Mom said they would. She could still see the RV at the bottom of the stairs.

Sophia turned to her left and saw the room where Carl, Lori and Shane were staying, she remembered meeting them in the highway and how funny Carl was. She was glad to have someone to talk to who wasn't her Mom.

Sophia felt better almost immediately in the fresh air and decided to have a quick peek inside Carl's room before going back to hers, she saw a small gap between the drapes and she squinted to see through them. She saw something moving in there and it took a moment before she saw that it was in fact Carl. Her heart leapt as she realised someone else was up but it soon came crashing down when she realised she couldn't signal him without probably waking up Lori or Shane. Whenever they were awake Lori would just fawn over him and never leave them alone, something which annoyed Sophia since she didn't like talking near adults, she was taught that she was supposed to be seen and not heard if anything.

The boy inside seemed to be in the same state she was, in his day clothes but bound by his parents sleeping. Sophia feebly waved from behind the frilly drapes but he didn't see. Breathing deeply she tapped the window and he turned around shocked, he saw her and smiled, he moved to the door and opened it quickly poking his head out.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She answered with a smile; he looked behind him and slipped out closing the door behind him quietly. They stood awkwardly together outside once they realised they had nothing to do.

"Soooo… What you wanna do?" he asked feebly, he awkwardly shuffled his weight from one foot to the other.

"I dunno. Wanna play truth or dare?" she asked innocently, Carl smiled.

"Yeah! I rule at this game, you won't win." He said confidently, his smugness fuelled Sophia's competitiveness.

"Okay then Carl but don't be so cocky. You go first."

"Okay, truth or dare?"

There was a moment of silence as Sophia pondered the options.

"Truth."

"Okay… You ever cheat on a test?" he asked, she giggled at the feeble question but answered truthfully.

"Never! I don't like cheating… I get scared the teachers will catch me so I always back out. Ok you're turn… Truth or dare?" she asked, Carl's face rearranged in an expression of deep thought before answering.

"I will do truth as well."

"Um… You ever try and run away from home?" she asked, Carl's face expressed puzzlement.

"No. Never wanted to run away from home. Your turn, truth or dare?" he asked, Sophia was a bit shocked by his answer but decided to keep things simply in order to win.

"Truth again."

"Okay…" Carl seemed at loss for question before his face split into a cheeky grin, "You ever kissed a boy?" he asked cheekily. Sophia felt her face start to burn as she mumbled an answer.

"Um… No I don't have a boyfriend…" she mumbled and she saw Carl begin to giggle hearing this, Sophia decided to turn the tables.

"Okay then wise-guy what about you? You ever kissed a girl?" she asked and the smile slid off his face.

Ah the tables have turned.

"I didn't say truth or dare." He complained.

"Okay then truth or dare?" she asked politely.

"Dare." He said immediately.

"Steal Shane's gun and shoot the RV's windscreen." She challenged. Carl's eyes widened.

"Sophia! You know I can't do that!" he whined, Sophia smiled as her plan fell into place.

"Well then you choose truth then and you answer my question." She said, Carl's face twisted in an annoyed look and she knew he knew that he was defeated; his answer was quiet and filled with embarrassment.

"Um… No... I haven't kissed a girl before…" in the same feeble tone as Sophia, his face was turning the shade of red Sophia was sure hers was a few moments ago. Sophia giggled and punched Carl in the arm, he gave her an annoyed look and punched her back equally and the embarrassment was forgotten as they both laughed.

"Hey you wanna go for a walk?" Carl asked her, she cast a worried look to her Mom's room and had an idea.

"One second." She said and she darted inside, she found the complementary notepad and pen and scrawled a message on the page.

_Good Morning Mom, _

_Me and Carl went for a walk around the motel, we checked and there are no walkers in the parking lot, we won't go far don't worry. _

_Love you _

_Sophia xxx_

She left the message next to her Mom's pillow and closed the door behind her as she walked next to Carl. They walked slowly along the upper floor careful not to make too much noise; they decided to walk along the upper floor then around to where the RV was parked at the bottom of the staircase then go back up to their rooms and hope their parent were up. Sophia watch said it was only 7:13 so they had some time.

"So what was your life like before the walkers came?" Carl asked innocently, Sophia decided to be honest.

"It wasn't very good. I went to this middle school which was weird… It was connected to the high school by the cafeteria and it was painted weird mismatching colours. I had a few friends there but no best friends… Dad wouldn't let me have people over…" she said and she saw Carl nod at the apparently adequate story. "What about you?" she asked him.

"I lived in King County, the place where we are going, and I didn't like my school either. I had a few friends there and I lived with my Mom and Dad, I saw Shane a lot but Mom and Dad used to argue… and I mean they argued a lot, they always shouted as well." He explained, Sophia felt bad for him since she understood his pain, Mom and Dad often argued at her house… Although her Dad usually argued and her Mom just apologised… He never listened though…

"Sophia?" Carl's voice jolted her back to reality, she realised she had stopped walking. She then realised a single tear had started to form on her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he asked but Sophia just walked past him, her Dad had taught her that no-one wanted to see a crying woman, let alone a man. She wiped the tear away and carried on walking ahead of Carl until he caught up with her.

"Hey are you okay?" he asked and Sophia felt the tears creep up again. She spoke in a shaky voice.

"Yes I am. I am just thinking about home and stuff…" she lied, she hated lying and Mom always taught her it was a sin.

"You sure? You look like you are gonna cry." He said, he had a fair point and even though she was using every muscle in her body to stop her eyes from watering but it wasn't working and she felt the all-to-familiar sensation of crying. She sat down on the bottom of the steps she has just descended and let the cry loose. Carl sat beside her and put an awkward arm around her, she appreciated the contact and it made it easier. Whenever she was sad at home Mom would put an arm around her and let her cry it out and Carl was doing the same thing, she put her head in her arms and willed all the tears to go away. She felt embarrassed to cry in front of Carl but she continued until her eyes felt dry…

It took minutes until she felt safe to rise from her arms, she looked at the boy beside her and there was an awkward moment when his arm was still around her before he cleared his throat and withdrew it. However the issue of what to say next was broken by the sound of Lori's voice.

"Carl?! CARL?!" the woman leant over the railing a floor above them as Shane came out behind her carrying his gun. Carl and Sophia stood quickly and waved as they took a step apart. Lori saw them and nudged Shane as Sophia's Mom came out of her room.

The look on their faces weren't happy ones.


	7. Entry and Exit

_Disclaimer: Random disclaimer, I don't own The Walking Dead or any of its products since they belong to Robert Kirkman. _

Chapter 7:

Entry and Exit

Hannah charged up the stairs and knew the door she was looking for, it was the only one that was closed all the way shut. She reached it and tried to open it but found it looked from the other side, she began banging on it.

"Morgan! I know you're in there! I know your wife's been bit! Morgan you gotta let me in!" she yelled as she banged, she heard the kids behind her panicking but she kept going until the door opened a fraction, she was greeted by the furious face of Morgan

"NO! You ain't coming in she is fine!" he yelled back with equal force, Hannah lost her patience and drew her gun and pointed it at his face.

"Let. Me. In. Now." She seethed and the startled man stepped back as Hannah pushed her way past Morgan as the door swung open. She stopped clean when she saw what had truly happened to Jenny.

The first thing she saw was the bite mark, a deep bite just above the left breast near the shoulder with the blood staining the nightie around it. Next she saw the woman's face, she was clearly beautiful once but now she was paler and her eyes were discoloured something awful. Blood leaked from her mouth as she growled at the sight of fresh meat, she had already turned. She lunged and Hannah jumped backwards before she realised that both of Jenny's hands were handcuffed to the bed.

"Oh Morgan I am so sorry…" she said lowering the gun, she hadn't thought at all… all she could think about was her children… didn't even think about what this man was going through. She heard a whimper behind her and the horror struck her as she turned to see Duane staring at the thing that was once his mother.

"Mom…" he started but Morgan shouted over him.

"Duane get out of here!"

"Mom!" he lunged forward but was grabbed from behind by Jamie as Morgan and Hannah pushed him back.

"JAMIE, GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Hannah shouted and she saw her young girl pull with all her might as her brother pulled with her, Hannah pushed and the three kids fell back on the other side of the door, Hannah stood and swung the door shut behind them and locked it. She was answered by banging and screaming on the other as the desperate son tried to get in, Jenny growled louder behind her. Hannah turned calmly and saw the broken Morgan sitting down.

"Morgan… We can't leave her like this… This isn't fair on your wife, this isn't fair on your son!" she shouted, the man couldn't do anything more than weep as Hannah told him the awful truth, he blurted out a quick response.

"I can't… I tried to Hannah but I can't… I can't shoot my wife…" he spoke softly; he looked at the thing growling in the bed beside him and Hannah knew he still saw the woman he loved.

"I can do it if you want." She offered, Morgan raised his head and looked at her with teary eyes.

"I don't know… I want to do it… But I can't…" he weeped, Hannah knew the predicament, he wanted to be the one but he hadn't the will to do it.

"Morgan… You can't leave her like this… That thing isn't your wife anymore… Now either you shoot her or I do because I can't let my children be in any more danger." She said quietly but firmly, Morgan kept looking at her before he stood up quickly, he held out his hand and Hannah handed over the gun as both he and she tried to block out the banging at the door still continuing, she could hear Jamie trying to reason with him on the other side of the door but failing.

Morgan raised the gun and aimed at the face of his former-wife, she saw his hand shake as he tried to keep his hand steady, but just as his finger began to close around the trigger he dropped the gun.

"I can't shoot her Hannah and the gunshot… won't it draw walkers?" he said, Hannah knew he was trying to reason with himself, stop himself from killing her. However he had a point, the gunshot would draw walkers from all around, walkers that would already be outside the closed up windows after chasing them from the park. He sat down as Hannah stood up; she knew what she had to do and how to do it.

"Morgan. I'll do it… but you gotta forgive me for how I do it." She said and Morgan looked at her and nodded blinking back tears as he sank in his chair more covering his eyes. Hannah picked up the blade she had been eyeing the knife since she walked in, it was a blade long enough to pierce the brain, it would do the job. She moved next to the woman who snapped at her, trying to get a bite in. The bangs outside the door had subsided to Jamie must have succeeded in reasoning with Duane.

Jenny stopped moving as Hannah held the knife in both hands; perhaps she knew this was her end, perhaps that last strand of humanity in her was aware that she was about to meet her maker.

A tear came out of Hannah's eye as she plunged the blade down, it pierced Jenny's eye and went in deep. Hannah held the knife inside her head as she shuddered several times then slumped backwards. Dead.

Hannah dropped the knife as Morgan started to wail, he moved forwards and clutched his wife's body as Hannah moved back from him, she felt the fear and bile rise up inside her but swallowed it all down as she kept a stable head. She noticed the blood on her hands and nearly retched again.

As she looked down she realised that this was the beginning of the world she had to live in, the world she had to survive in.

The world where she had to kill people.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lori never knew Shane could shout so much. Indeed she was pissed at Carl for disobeying her but Jesus Christ… He didn't deserve that… True, Carl was being reckless and so was Sophia by just walking around in broad daylight without adults around and Lori had told him off for that but Shane didn't need to go full Rambo on him… He had been fuming…

_Carl sat on the couch in the motel as Shane, Lori and Paula stood in front of him, Sophia had gone into the other room with Carol wanting to talk to her, Ed still wasn't up yet… This was gonna wake him up though._

"_What the hell you tryin' to do Carl? Get yourself killed? I thought you were a smart kid you know…" he towered over the cowering kid._

"_Nothin' we were just bored because you guys weren't up then…" Carl tried to reason._

"_Then go back to sleep, read a book or even go into one of the other rooms out of sight just don't go walking around by yourselves." Lori said calmly trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere._

"_Sorry…" he said but Shane talked over him._

"_Yeah well being sorry doesn't excuse you okay? I need to know what was going through your mind when you thought 'Let's go for a walk in a parking lot by ourselves where there are people who eat other people'!" Shane started to get louder, Lori saw her son get that face he always got when Lori told him off good and proper for breaking something or doing something else bad. He was on the verge of tears._

"_Shane I think he knows what he did wrong…" she said quietly in his ear but he just blew her off._

"_No Lori! The time for a slap on the wrist has past! He needs to know the consequences of being an idiot in this world are death or infection." He said firmly, Lori was shocked and by the look on Paula's face so was she._

"_Shane…" Paula began but he was on a roll now._

"_You know what Carl, you do that again and I might just be done with you! I put my life on the line for you and your Mom and this is how you repay me?!" he bellowed, face turning red._

"_Shane…" Lori said louder but Shane once more ignored her as Carl succumbed to tears._

"_You want to end up like your Dad?! Dead?! Want to put your Mom through that?!" he shouted and Carl started to cry, that was enough. Lori stepped in front of him and pushed him back._

"_Enough! You are not his father Shane! Now I want you to leave the room whilst I talk to my son!" she yelled and Shane looked surprised, he blinked and took a step back before leaving the room altogether, Lori knew he was surprised by what he had just done. She looked at Paula who nodded and followed Shane out the door._

Lori had spent the next half an hour comforting Carl telling him Shane had a point but was being unreasonable about it. They had left the motel as soon as Ed had woken up, he and Shane sat in the front of the RV as they drove towards King County, Carl and Sophia no longer played and laughed but sat on opposite sides of the RV in silence, Carol was sat next to Sophia chatting with Paula about cooking, turns out they were both avid cooks and both interested in cooking in a kitchen again. Lori herself sat next to Carl and was just staring out the window, although she wasn't known for her active imagination Lori would get lost for hours looking at the world speeding past her on a long road trip.

"Heads up guys here we are." Shane said from the front of the RV, Lori turned and saw the sign for King County go past them as the rolled into town, although the feeling of homeliness filled Lori she still felt nervous and afraid to see the devastation of a walker attack on her home-town…

Her fears were justified as soon as she got a good look at the second sign welcoming them to King County, smeared across the sign was a massive blood splatter with several corpses at the bottom of it.

It read 'Welcome to King County – The Safer Community'


	8. Aftermath and Break-ins

Chapter 8:

Aftermath and Break In's

Jamie sat in the bathroom crying, it had been 3 hours since Duane's mom had died. She remembered how scared she was when they got shunted out of the room where she was, his Mom was a walker and she had been killed. Jamie wasn't stupid… Mom said Morgan killed her but the blood on her hands said otherwise… She was sick of being treated like a child, she was 13 years old she wasn't dumb.

She had been so scared when Duane was shouting and banging on the door, she had eventually convinced to stop by holding his arms down… He was way stronger than her but she managed to calm him down. That is until he heard the wails of his father then he banged even louder, only when her Mom stepped out and told him the news did he stop yelling… Morgan and Duane had been in the upper bedroom next to Duane's Mom since… Jamie had held back tears but let them flow freely now she was by herself.

The reason was this made her realise that so many people where dead. Kassi was dead, Duane's Mom was dead and all the teachers were dead… Her Dad was dead… She had held it in since the beginning but now was her time, Mom and Billy were asleep in the other room and Jamie needed this time to herself.

She remembered before the beginning how she saw the world. She thought you could be anything you wanted to be and that everybody was nice underneath… She remembered how she thought Mickey Harris was the cutest boy in school, how she would always be friends with her BFF Tanya and become an actress and get a boyfriend and marry him… Have kids… Live a full life.

That wasn't an option anymore… She had realised this when she saw her own mother walk out of that bedroom, coated in blood and lying to her face. That was the moment when she realised that the old world was gone, that the world she wanted to grow up in was destroyed and she had to fight for the rest of her life, a heavy burden on a 13 year old girl.

That was why she was crying, however she knew she couldn't hide in the bathroom until morning, she wiped away the remaining rogue tears and walked outside, Mom and Billy were still asleep next to each other, both looking very serene. She slipped past them into the kitchen. She wanted some water to wet her scratchy throat after a day of running and screaming.

10 minutes later she sat on the couch in the front room with the water in hand. It had been several days since the 'apocalypse' had begun, since then she considered herself stronger from her few experiences, she thought she could handle anything… that was until she saw Kassi's brains being spread across the road, she had nearly puked then and there but had kept it down, she was proud of herself for doing so. She had learned at her Youth Drama Group how to act neutral and empty in order to build a character from scratch, it had come in handy whenever she had wanted to run, scream, cry or even just give up… She would just convert to neutral and build herself again from the ground up, except she would paint herself as a stronger person, one who could protect her little brother from the evils of this new world.

Jamie saw the light push from behind the covered windows… pushing her luck she sneaked a peek behind the drapes and saw the sun rise, the street outside was deserted… the walkers had moved on to look for their next meal.

Stepping back Jamie felt the price of a night without sleep push itself on her, her eyelids felt heavy as she looked around her… She was trapped, trapped in the world she didn't want to live in. But she looked back into the lounge room and saw her mother and little brother sleeping there, she knew that she would never leave them alone in this world.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Morgan rose earlier than he intended, he felt the weight of his son beside him and realised that they had both fallen asleep grieving the night before. He felt the pang of hunger as he realised they had not eaten in at least 12 hours and realised neither had his son, Duane had been hysterical after he heard his mother died. Morgan had told Hannah to say that he killed her, he wanted Duane to think that he was strong enough to care for him and he didn't want the kid hating her for killing his mother if they were gonna be stuck together.

Morgan left the room next to his wife's tomb; his heart froze and clenched when he looked on the door, knowing what lay on the other side.

He had waited for Duane to fall asleep before he broke down, he felt better after a night of crying silently and letting the weight of the situation bear down upon him, he had always joked to his workmates about how emotional Jenny got sometimes… How she would be hysterical during pregnancy for one day then the next be the happiest person alive, now he realised how much can change in a day.

He walked down the stairs quietly, determined not to wake up Hannah or her family but as he hit the bottom step he saw the young girl Jamie was already awake.

"Hi." He whispered quietly, he saw the small girl jump and turn at the sound of his voice, she smiled and waved and moved into the kitchen after him, she looked timid and didn't look at him straight in the face.

"It's okay." He said, he saw the girl look at him and noticed a change in her demeanour, he saw the emotion leave her momentarily and saw he exterior toughen.

"I'm not afraid. I just wanted to say sorry for what happened to your wife." She said in a voice different from the one he heard yesterday, this one was tougher and more mature. Morgan knew the girl was trying to put on a brave face.

"Thanks… Rather not talk about it you know…" he mumbled as he felt that feeling nestle in his throat. He knew he could control it but he needed to be thinking about other things for a while, Jamie looked in the pantry whilst Morgan got himself some water.

"Sure… What's the plan for today then?" she asked and Morgan felt the thought intrude again… What to do with Jenny's body? He couldn't even bring himself to walk near the door to the room which held his wife let alone how to get her out.

"Um… I don't know, I'm waiting for your Mom to get up then we will talk." He said and he saw the young girl shrug and walk back into the room where she was greeted by a kind voice.

"Hey sweetie." Morgan heard Hannah's voice greet her daughter from the kitchen. He exhaled and walked in after Jamie, he saw Hannah look at him nervously and Morgan knew she was fearful that Morgan would hate her.

"Morning." She said quietly as she got up, next to her Billy had just started waking up rubbing his dreary eyes.

"Whassa' goin' on?" he asked in a long slur, his mother hugged him and motioned to Morgan to go in the kitchen, he did so and she followed leaving her kids in the other room.

There were a few tense moments when neither of them spoke, this being the first eye contact they had had since she killed his wife.

"Are you ok?" she asked tentatively, she looked mighty nervous.

"I don't know…" Morgan said as he sat on a chair nearby, he really didn't know though that was the thing. He felt empty yet full of emotions at the same time.

Another few moments as Hannah sat in a chair opposite him.

"I really don't know Hannah… I mean I had always hoped that she didn't get bitten badly… That the infection didn't spread or that there was a cure somewhere. I really thought she could be brought back, but when you stood next to her holding a gun and she was still reaching for you… That's when I knew… That's when I knew that Jenny was dead and the only thing left behind was her body." He spoke harshly through tears, he could feel himself breaking down badly and all he could think about was his son… His son would have to grow up without a mother. Hannah leant over and put her hand on his.

"I'm so sorry Morgan but you had to… I have seen people with limbs missing because of the things that your wife became. Now you need to stay strong Morgan. You are your son's rock. If you break then he will break and you can't let that happen to him… Not now…" she said tightened her squeeze. Morgan collected himself and looked at Hannah once more, a tear rolled down her cheek and detached from her face. Morgan realised this was hard for her too… Mere days ago she would have been the average Mom, worrying about paying for groceries, what to do at work or what Billy's report card said. Now she had been forced to kill what were people and stab a friends' wife in the eye. This was just as tough for her as it was for him.

Morgan withdrew his hand from under hers and looked towards the stairs; he knew he had to talk about what was going to happen next.

"What are we gonna do about Jenny's body?" he asked Hannah, he saw the woman shrug and look at the stairs with the same fear as Morgan felt.

"I don't know Morgan… I don't know if I can just take a body and throw it in the trash or even bury it… Plus I don't want Jamie or Billy to see…"

"I don't want Duane to see either. I don't want his last memories of his mother to be filled with blood and decaying skin." He felt the bile creep up his throat as he used the harsh language but he swallowed it down. He needed to stay strong like Hannah said.

"We can't leave her there though… Pretty soon the smell is gonna be unbearable." She said and Morgan knew she was right, one way or another if they wanted to stay here Jenny would have to come down. Unless…

"What if we moved to another house?" he asked and he saw Hannah's eyes squint, he knew she didn't like the idea of moving away from a place that was safe enough.

"I don't know Morgan… We just got here and I don't wanna go back out there." She said tentatively and she looked into the room where her children were, Morgan looked to see Jamie and Billy playing red hands or something like that, he didn't want Duane exposed too but he couldn't live in a house with his wife's decaying corpse.

"Hannah we gotta move… For your kids and mine." He said and he saw Hannah's expression soften, he needed to remind her he was just as reluctant as she was but they needed to do it. Suddenly her face lit up.

"Fred and Cindy Drake's house." She said suddenly and Morgan did a double take, she had jumped on that pretty quickly.

"You sure?" he asked and she nodded.

"Yeah. I went there last year for Cindy's birthday party and I remember Cindy saying that they had a load of locks put on the front and back doors after a robber broke into next door. They also had a good basement as well; I saw it when I took Jamie and Billy home because all the kids were having their own party in the basement. It's real close too, it is in the street once over from here, we can get to it by going over the yard fence since the houses back onto each other." She said and Morgan felt his insides brighten up, this place sounded safe and secure, if it was abandoned then it sounded like it was the place for them so settle.

"Ok. Let's do it. Put whatever we need in bags. We need food, water, clothes and whatever counts as a weapon. You can take some of Jenny's clothes they are in the laundry." He said and he saw Hannah nod then walk over to her two children and begin talking, Morgan started up the stairs towards where Duane was and he found the kid still fast asleep in bed.

Morgan knelt next to Duane lightly and gently began shaking him. He saw his son's eyelids flutter as he began to stir.

"Mom…" he said in a groggy voice and Morgan's heart stopped dead as his brain went into panic mode.

_Please don't tell me he thought it was all a dream…_

"Son…" he began but he saw it in his eyes when he looked at Dad. That little glimmer of hope fading away into nothingness as he saw his dead and realised it wasn't a dream.

"Dad…" he said quietly and he saw his son begin to cry, he hugged him and let the minutes pass until his son stopped, he broke the hug and wiped his eyes before sitting up. Morgan decided to tell him quick.

"Son we are moving to another house. Hannah knows this great house nearby that better than this one. We are going there today so I need you to get your things together okay?" he asked his son and he saw the boy was still shaken but he nodded, Duane moved around the room with his backpack slinging in random items of clothing and books. Morgan gathered his own things and in 5 minutes they were ready.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Downstairs Hannah, Jamie and Billy were ready. All looking a bit scared and all had their back packs holstered.

"We good?" Morgan asked and Hannah nodded.

"Yeah, between us we have the weapons, whatever food we had and all the bottled water." She said and Morgan nodded, he looked through the kitchen at the back door. It was a relatively short journey but so much could go wrong…

"Okay then let's go." Morgan said reluctantly, he took his revolver out of his pocket and readied it and he saw Hannah do the same next to him, pistol in hand. He nodded to Duane who held the shovel he often carried aloft and next to him he saw Jamie awkwardly holding the axe Hannah bought with her as Billy stood behind her.

"Okay this is how we do it," Morgan said putting on his best commander voice, "I will go in front and make sure nothing is ahead whilst we climb and Hannah will cover the back to make sure nothing creeps up on us. Duane, Jamie and Billy will stay near the fence until I give you the all clear to come over. When we do that me and Hannah will check inside whilst you kids keep an eye outside, you see anything and you just holler and we will be there in a flash okay? From there we decided what to do next." he said firmly, everyone nodded and Morgan turned to face the back door tightening the grip on his gun.

"Hannah which house number is Fred and Cindy's?" he asked.

"12a, if I am right this is number 14 yes?" she asked and Morgan nodded, impressed she remembered the small details.

"Okay then, that means that we have to go through the house on the other side of the back fence and go across the street into Cindy's house… They had a path up the side in case we need to hide." She said and Morgan was definitely impressed, this woman knew what she was doing.

"Ok then. Let's go, best to get it over with in my opinion." He said and opened the back door quietly, the yard was clear… He jogged across with the kids close behind. He waited by the fence as Hannah caught up holding the gun aloft facing behind them.

"Okay, wait here." Morgan said as he jumped over, as he did he glanced over the yard to find nothing there, an empty yard.

"Come on over." He whispered and he heard shuffling before he saw his son land on the ground next to him, Jamie followed close behind and Morgan helped Billy down from the relatively high fence, as he did so Hannah clambered over and looked at the house.

"Okay stay close, we are gonna go into that house and wait until we have a clear way across to the Drake's house." She said and everyone nodded again, Morgan felt the back door and found it worryingly easy to pry open. Inside he saw a mess, furniture flung in all directions, broken items, clothes scattered and a plasma screen TV smashed over the kitchen floor. Clearly something had torn through here.

Morgan looked at Hannah and nodded, he walked slowly inside looking around, it seemed like no-one was home, maybe they had struck lucky and this was empty enough to wait in until the walkers cleared and they could get to the Drake's.

Just as he thought this he heard a thud from the room next to him, the door was partially open and he looked at Hannah who nodded. He then looked at Jamie and motioned for the axe who handed it over as Morgan tucked the gun in his waistband. He pushed the door open with the axe and nearly gagged at the sight before him, there was a body of a rather fat man on the ground with an elderly female walker elbow deep in his entrails; drawing on instinct Morgan shut the door behind him to block the kids view. The noise of the door shutting got the woman attention that made a beeline for him; she stumbled clumsily as Morgan raised the axe and brought it down over her head with great force.

The skull split and the walker died instantly, Morgan withdrew the axe and exited the room cautiously, careful not to leave the door wide enough for the kids to see the awful sight. As he closed the door he saw Hannah standing by the front window looking out onto the street.

"Bad news Morgan." She delivered the grave news in a sombre tone.

"What?" Morgan asked fearfully moving besides her looking onto the street.

"There are three on this street and they are just sauntering, they don't seem to be moving anywhere." She groaned as Morgan looked and saw what she meant, there was a man and two women sauntering out front, they looked rather serene and not content on moving anywhere, they were just standing in the middle of the road, directly between the house they were in and the house they needed to be in.

"Fuck…" Morgan grunted and looked back at the kids, they had noticed what Morgan had noticed before and were looking sick of it. The smell coming from the corpses of the man and the woman in the other room were pushing into the room they were in. But until those walkers moved they were stuck, two wouldn't have been a problem, one for him and one for Hannah. But three meant that one could easily catch on of them out whilst they were busy with one of the other two. Morgan didn't want Duane, Jamie or Billy in danger and guns were too risky at this point.

"Let the waiting game begin then I suppose." He said reluctantly and sat down on the sofa near what remained of the TV.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Ed was driving… Again.

This always made Paula nervous. True he has only been at the wheel once or twice but his driving was lousy and he sometimes swerved to try and hit walkers, though he was driving near enough to sensibly whilst under Shane's watchful eye.

Paula was bursting with excitement and fear at the same time. She had felt nothing but guilt ever since she had left her family in King County, she had seen Tom and Freya near the hospital and had told them to find Shane and Lori who they were with whilst she was with Carl who had gotten separated. Paula had found Shane and Lori as the attacks had begun; she hadn't seen Tom or Freya since because Shane had forced her into the car when the walkers were too many.

They were passing Mortimer Square; Paula did her shopping there sometimes. It was a hot spot for teenagers though so Paula didn't walk through there during the nights just in case several were 'short of change'. Paula turned to Lori who was looking out of the window with that same worried look she wore when she was thinking deep.

"Something wrong hun'?" Paula asked and Lori broke from her trance looking at Paula.

"Nothin' much… Just looking around and seeing this place destroyed you know?" she said and Paula silently agreed, they had seen walkers on the way in and were taking backstreets from now on to avoid possibly attracting walkers.

"Don't worry Lori. Things have gotta pick up some time." She said hopefully, she recognised a street and realised they were minutes from her house.

"You ready?" Shane asked from the front, Paula didn't quite know what he meant.

"Ready for what?" she asked and she saw the darkened expression on Shane's face.

"Come on, you know… Will you be able to take it if we find Tom or Freya and they've been bit?" he asked and Paula inside exploded with rage. How dare he…

"I don't want to think like that. That kind of thinking has no place here Shane." She said firmly biting her tongue to stop herself from shouting at him, she looked to her side to see Carl and Sophia sitting next to each other awkwardly, Carl had gotten a real telling off from Shane and as far as Paula knew Sophia had gotten one off Carol, they hadn't spoken in the 2 hours since they had left the motel and Paula was scared that Shane had been too hard on him. True he did a stupid thing but they were all kids once and Paula had heard about Shane's high school history, stupid things seemed to be his forte.

Paula was brought out of the daydream by two loud thuds and the RV rocking. Next to her Sophia screamed and clutched onto Carol who was shocked herself. Shane decided to shout again.

"Ed! Come on man what the hell?!" he yelled, Paula turned to see the fat man chuckle.

"You need to calm down man. It was only fucking two walkers… didn't even put a dent in us." He remarked and Paula saw Shane bite his tongue and grip on the shotgun in his lap a little bit tighter as the RV turned across another two streets.

"Fucking idiot…" he mumbled and she saw Ed start to retaliate before she realised where they were.

"Stop!" she said and Ed piled on the brakes, the whole RV shuddered as gravity threw them forward as it came to a stop. Everyone looked at Paula before Lori looked behind Paula out the window.

"It's your house." She said simply and Paula smiled and started moving towards the door but Shane stopped her.

"Maybe I should go first…" he said firmly but Paula was having none of it, she grabbed the pistol from Lori's lap beside her and held on tight.

"No… It's my house and I am going first." She said firmly before pushing her way past and out the RV door. She moved towards her house but froze when she saw that the front door was wide open, she held the gun tighter as she saw Lori and Shane step into her peripheral.

"We're with you honey." Lori said and Paula focused on the feeling of seeing her husband and daughter again before walking up to her wide open house.

_Kind of a long chapter I know but I wanted to make sure it didn't just grow stale. A big thank you to SilverSun09 for their support and for my many readers. Thank you so much :-)_


	9. End of Tethers

Chapter 9:

End of the Tethers

Lori looked at the open door with a mixture of fear and sorrow. Lori knew that if anyone was alive in there they wouldn't leave the door open… But this was Paula's house and Lori knew nothing could dissuade her now, Shane knew it as well.

"Okay if we are going in there here is the plan. I take upstairs, Paula and Lori take downstairs. Ed can stay in the RV this time, not having him out here being a danger to everyone." Shane glanced back at the RV where Ed remained and raised his hand signalling the oaf to stay. Lori was sick of Ed, he did nothing but smoke, shout and swear. He was a bad influence on Carl and a worse danger towards his wife and daughter. He needed to go in Lori's opinion.

"Fine, but if you find Freya before me yell and I'll come running." Paula said firmly gripping the gun tighter, Lori didn't like Paula with a gun; she had never fired one in her life. The red-head stepped forward but was cut off by Shane.

"Paula you gotta listen to me." He began but a frustrated Paula cut him off.

"What now Shane?!" she said loudly but Shane stood his ground.

"You gotta accept the fact that we might get in there and one of them, hell both of them might be bit if they are there at all." He said and Lori saw Paula's face harden in anger.

"I told you Shane I will _not _think like that! Now get out of my way so I can go see my family." She seethed as she pushed past him; she marched up to the open door with Lori right behind her, inside the house was a mess. Something had gone down here that is for sure… The coffee table was overturned and various possessions were strewn across the bleached hardware floor.

"Oh my God…" Paula gasped when she saw the mess; Lori put a hand on her shoulder which she shrugged off as she marched through the house.

"Tom?! Freya?!" she yelled out carelessly, Shane was right behind her as Lori clutched the knife in her hand harder. As much as she hated the gun she missed the security it provided.

"Hey keep your voice down! If there are unwelcome people here then we don't want to alert them!" Shane hissed grabbing her wrist but Paula pulled away and marched towards the stairs.

"Tom?! Freya?! To- ARGH!" she screamed loudly as a figure toppled onto her. Lori yelled out as Shane kicked the assailant in the face, he rolled off of Paula who scrambled to her feet still screaming, Lori looked at the assailants face and she knew why.

It was Tom, not the Tom that Lori knew but something that looked like him. Although he was missing an entire cheek.

"No! NO!" Paula screamed as Shane hit him around the face once more. Tom toppled backwards into the coffee table.

"SHANE! STOP!" Paula screeched as Shane looked back her before cocking his shotgun and aiming for Tom's head. Before he could pull the trigger though he was pushed aside by a frantic Paula.

"NO! I will do it!" she yelled as she turned to face her husband, he lumbered towards her as she raised the pistol, however she was hesitating as he continued forwards, Lori and Shane moved back slowly as she did but she still wasn't pulling the trigger.

"Enough of this…" Shane muttered and he shouldered his shotgun once more but Lori grabbed his arm.

"Shane no!" she yelled as she grabbed but he twisted out from under her.

"No Lori it has to…" however he got no further since a gunshot pierced the air as Tom's body fell backwards. Paula collapsed as Lori lunged to catch her, she was weeping heavily and clutched onto Lori who hugged her.

"It's okay, it's okay…" she whispered into the poor woman's ear, however she stopped when she saw it.

The small figure emerging from behind the sofa.

No…

God please no…

The little figure with blood dripping from its teeth…

Freya…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The little girl snarled as she began to lumber towards the fallen woman, Lori saw Shane raise his shotgun as Paula began to wail even louder but he didn't shoot… He couldn't…

"FREYA! NO!" Paula screamed as she tried to writhe from under Lori but she held fast, Lori knew if she let go Paula would try to hug her child and be eaten alive.

"Shane! Do something!" Lori yelled but he was just staring, he couldn't do it, Lori kept screaming but he wasn't responding, Paula screamed more and elbowed Lori's gut but she still held on. Freya was mere steps from Paula when she saw Shane raise his shotgun once more and close his eyes.

The gunshot was louder than Lori expected, not because she hadn't heard the shotgun before up close but because she was growing faint. She felt the world becoming less real, she felt Paula slip from her grasp and hug the dead child, weeping into the silent daylight, mourning the loss of her only child. Lori felt the tears falling down her face, she could have stayed knelt forever if she hadn't have been brought back to reality by Shane's hand on her shoulder.

"Lori… We gotta go…" he said quietly as she stood up. She knew they had to… The noise from them all would bring all the walkers in King County.

She walked over to Paula and put a hand on her shoulder; Paula beat it away and hugged her daughter closer. Lori looked towards Shane who was gripping the shotgun nervously, he was obviously shocked but still in charge as he turned towards the door. Lori focused on Paula once more.

"Paula. Honey we have to go…" she gripped Paula harder and pulled her to her feet. She let the small girls body drop as she collapsed into Lori's arms, Lori supported her as they moved to leave behind Shane. Paula was limp and barely standing, she was shaking badly and Lori knew she was in shock, hell so was she… She wanted Tom and Freya to be alive so badly… The moved down the front steps and saw Carl waiting nervous by the door next to a smoking Ed. Carl realise and Lori saw him tear up as Shane hugged him before guiding him back inside the RV. Even Ed looked sorry as he climbed behind them, Paula had her head deep in Lori's shoulder as Lori supported her inside the RV and layed her down on the bedding in the back.

The RV started to move as Shane started talking. Lori sat and comforted the crying woman and only half listened.

"Now this is a bad time I know but I need you to be strong just for a little while more okay? We are gonna go to Lori and Carl's place and hole up there for the night before deciding what to do next." He said from the driver's seat. Everybody nodded but maintained their sombre silence, the RV turned several more streets as nobody talked, the only sounds being Paula's cries and the sound of Ed exhaling the smoke out of the open window.

The RV came to a stop as Lori looked out of the window at her house. Mere weeks ago she had been sitting on that porch happily reading a magazine… Those days were over now though… The door was closed like she left it; she could only hope that it was empty as well.

"I shoved the spare key in the mailbox before we left Shane… Should still be there." Lori said quietly, Shane looked at her and nodded, there was something in his eyes Lori didn't like…

Shane had been acting oddly these last few days, she knew he was protecting them all but towards Lori he wasn't as harsh… The night before he had started it again, what was once harmless flirting on his part but now was becoming something else. He had said how he cared for her and for Carl… She couldn't though… She was still married and she didn't know whether or not she could go against Rick like that, dead or alive.

Shane dismounted first with Lori and Carl following, this time however everyone came in so they locked the RV up tight before unlocking the front door.

Lori breathed a sigh of relief as she realised no-one had intruded her house. It was just how she left it, right down to the pile of knocked over magazines she had left on the floor the day she had escaped with her family. She looked back and saw Shane eyeing her again but she looked away.

"Okay there are 3 bedrooms and 4 beds here so we can use the same sleeping arrangement as last night… Carol, you and Sophia can take the master bedroom… Paula you and me can use the guest room it has two single beds… Carl you can share with Shane in your bedroom since we left the air mattress here and Ed the couch is all yours." She said looking at him, he smirked and looked at the couch; Lori was glad she and Rick had splurged a month previously and bought the large and comfortable lounge set with extra mattress.

"Fine with me. Just don't go making loud noises." He said in a slurred voice stubbing out his cigarette in a piece of stale toast. Lori showed Carol and Sophia were their room was as Shane bought in their bags, since they had left certain things at the motel to save space and they hadn't bought a lot to begin with it was easy for the one man to bring it in. Carl went into his room and began tidying it for Shane to sleep there as Lori cleaned some of the mess they had left before they left.

Meanwhile Ed had sat down (again) as Carol and Sophia closed all the windows and blinds. When Shane returned he reinforced the back door as Lori made sure everything was shut and locked.

By the time they had finished it was pushing for 12 so they decided to rest at least. Food was shot anyway and the pitiful supplies they had barely cut the mustard.

"Damn I wished we had taken some of them MRE's." Ed moaned from the couch, Lori and Paula sat with him and Lori silently agreed. Ed had packed enough survival gear to 'feed a small army' in Carol's words. But when people had started panicking after seeing Atlanta go up in flames they had been forced to abandon the Chevvy and the Cop Car and take the RV since it was the only thing pointed in the right direction. Just as she though this Shane walked back inside.

"Guys we have a situation here." He said gravely, a common tone of late.

"If it's about the food then we know dipshit." Ed interjected, Shane chose to ignore him.

"We are indeed low on food but gas as well. If we get attacked that RV has 5 miles in it tops. We need people to get gas and get food, it needs to be done today." He said looking around; Carol, Sophia and Carl had entered as he said it and Carol instinctively grabbed Sophia's shoulders.

"Going back out there again? Are you sure Shane?" she said timidly and Lori agreed. She looked at Paula who still hadn't said a word since Freya's death, she shouldn't go out there again.

"If we go we stick together." Lori said, again it seemed it fell to Shane, her and, regrettably, Ed.

"No. I will go and get gas by myself and I will be in and out quickly. The station nearby also carries food so I should be able to find enough for a few more days at most." He said and Lori tensed, she didn't like the idea of him going off by himself.

"Shane…" she began but he cut her off.

"Lori we don't have enough people to go in a group. I don't want you going Carl needs you. Carol can't go because Sophia sure as hell needs her and I am certainly not putting Paula out there." He said firmly.

"What about me?" Ed asked gruffly, Shane turned to him and scoffed.

"What about you? Don't tell me you actually care enough to come with." Shane taunted and Ed stood up, slowly but surely, and looked Shane in the face.

"Think I can't? I'm going with you whether you like it or not Supercop. Just don't go expecting me to save your life." He said and grabbed the axe off the floor next to him and walked for the door. Shane smiled at Lori before walking after him shoulder the shotgun; he gave Lori a quick hug before walking to the front door, opening it and closing it after him.

"Lock it!" he said loudly and Lori obeyed, closing the latch and moving the chair beside it to ensure it can't be opened easily. She turned and saw Carol looking at her nervously.

"I wish they wouldn't go so soon…" she said quietly and let go of Sophia. Lori needed to talk to her.

"Carl go and show Sophia around the house." She said to her son, Carl looked happier without Shane or Ed around and happily obeyed with Sophia following, she turned to Carol and spoke quietly, ushering her away from the still comatose Paula.

"What is it?" Carol asked.

"I'm worried about this group." Lori said and Carol nodded.

"I know… Where do we go?" she asked but Lori shushed her.

"That's not the problem and you know it. Your husband has to stop being himself, I don't want Carl picking anything up from him." She said and Carol looked around nervously.

"I don't know what to say Lori I am so sorry… It's just Ed can be a bit…" she tried to explain but she didn't need to.

"Carol. Just say the words and I can have Shane deal with him, I can let your husband know he is never to lay another hand on you. Or your daughter." She offered and Carol looked more scared than she had ever done so far. Lori knew this wasn't easy for her but she needed to stop backing away from him.

"Please just give him time Lori… He just needs time to adjust…" Carol almost begged, Lori sighed heavily but let it slide; she nodded at Carol and led her back into the dining room to see Paula sitting where they left her.

Only this time holding a gun.

_Thanks for the reading again guys. Feel free to review since I am always on the look out for ideas and ways to improve my stories :-)_


	10. Breaking Down

Chapter 10:

Breaking Down

Hannah was getting sick of waiting, she wanted to just go outside and shoot the walkers so badly so they could leave this hellhole but she knew she couldn't, if she did then walkers would be attracted by the gunshot and they would have a full scale walker feeding frenzy on their hands.

"They still there?" Jamie asked out loud in an irritated voice.

"Yes!" Hannah said a bit too loudly; this had been the third time in 10 minutes someone had asked.

"Ok! Jeez calm down Mom…" Jamie said under her breath but Hannah caught it.

"What was that?" she asked quickly.

"Nothing…" her daughter replied even quicker and Hannah smirked, for all the smart-ass her daughter was she would never openly mouth off her mother.

Hannah looked back at the road and saw the walkers continuing to lumber around, they didn't really go anywhere though, just wandering back and forth and back and forth… Hannah was beginning to think that they were never going to leave unless someone distracts them.

Hannah turned to Morgan who was sat next to her and pulled a face, judging by the look on his face he was thinking the same thing… They needed to take the walkers on by themselves.

"Morgan…" she said quietly looking at him, she saw the regret but the acceptance in his expression.

"I know I know…" he said and looked outside towards the walkers; he then looked back at Jamie, Billy and Duane. Hannah didn't want to danger them either but this was the only way…

"I'm sorry but we can't spend the night here." Hannah said and the man waved her off standing up withdrawing the revolver from his waistband.

"We do this then we risk it all. We can't risk them getting us here though." He said darkly and Hannah saw the shift in the man's demeanour.

Hannah was getting scared of him; he had changed ever since Jenny… She had barely seen him speak to Duane since Jenny's death, he had become like some sort of robot who did nothing but give orders and look out for them.

True it had only been around 20 hours since her death but he had changed…

"Morgan wait maybe we should try some kind of strategy…" she said but Morgan seemed set, he had this wild and crazy look in his eye.

"You wanna get there?! Then we gotta take initiative!" he said and the wild look grew, Hannah cast a worried look to her children who were looking at her with a concerned look, Duane was still staring at his father.

"Won't that draw walkers Dad?" he asked innocently, Hannah was surprised when Morgan just looked at his son and his face softened then hardened.

"Don't interrupt Duane." He dismissed the child with a wave of his hand.

Enough.

"Morgan. Kitchen. Now!" Hannah seethed as she pushed Morgan into the kitchen; she shut the door behind her to block their voices from the children's. She spoke in a hushed voice.

"Ok Morgan you need to calm down and think about what you're doing." She spoke quietly; Morgan looked at her sweating with anger.

"I am thinking and I am sick of doing nothing." He spoke so harshly that Hannah nearly recoiled. She stood her ground however and stared the man down.

"No Morgan you aren't thinking, you are putting your son in danger and you won't even even look at him" she replied and she saw the man lose face, she knew she had hit him hard but she needed to… It needed to be done.

"You don't know what you're talking about…"

"Yes I do. You won't even look at your own son because every time you do you see your wife…" Hannah took a step closer to him, she needed to hammer the point home, as brutal as she needed to.

"You shut up right now!" Morgan said loudly but Hannah wasn't going to let him walk out like this. It was time to sort it out.

"No Morgan, you shut up and listen! Listen to your son! He needs his father and all he is getting is 'G.I Jones'! You need to stop thinking about what just happened and what _will_ happen if you don't stop and just THINK!" she yelled, the need for quietness gone in the urgency of the moment. They both breathed heavily for a moment before she saw it.

She saw the way his face contorted in pain, the way his eyes welled with tears, the way his body doubled over as he let it in. The truth. It would be 100 times worse than the moments after his wife's death; the acceptance would be _so _hard… But he needed to do it… He needed to do it if he stood a hope in hell of ever finding his way back from the dark abyss of this new world.

He sat back and spoke in a chocked voice.

"I can't do it Hannah… I can't keep going without her, she was my everything; she was the mother of my child! I can't do it… I can't do it…" he all but whimpered, Hannah knelt in front of him as tear stained her eyes.

"I know that feeling Morgan. I came around 20 seconds after I realised that my ex-husband wasn't coming back. I thought he was my only chance in this world but here I am, wanna know what kept me alive? ... It was the knowledge that without me my kids would never make it." She said and she saw Morgan look her in the eyes, they were bloodshot. He was being put through hell but he needed to stay strong, she couldn't afford him to be damaged.

"Come on Morgan you're my rock. You are the person I can rely on to help me, I don't want you to crumble because if you do then so do I Morgan!" she continued and she saw his face break into a smile, without needing words he leant forwards and hugged her reassuringly as she herself began to tear up.

Hannah broke the hug first and sat back, she and Morgan just looked at each other for a few moments until they heard a deep rumbling noise, rather like an engine.

"What the hell…" Morgan said as they both strained their ears; however it was soon unnecessary as Hannah heard Jamie and Billy scream from the living room.

Hannah was on her feet before the sounds of her children's screams had even finished, she kicked the door open and saw all three kids looking out the window with a look of shock and disgust on their faces.

"What?!" Hannah asked loudly as she rushed to their sides, she heard Morgan right behind her. As she looked out of the dusty window she saw what the commotion was about.

"A van came through and killed two of the people!" Billy yelled as Hannah saw the corpses, the engine noise had died away so the van must be out of range but on the road lay the ruined bodies of two walkers, the third lumbering stupidly in the direction the car must have been going.

"Now's our chance." Morgan said defiantly, Hannah looked at him and saw nothing but trust in his eyes; it seemed the breakdown had been good for him.

And really, it had been good for her as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Paula. Put the gun down." Lori said calmly moving to her best friends side, Paula was still in the same comatose state as before, the same faraway look in her eyes as she clutched the long cloak they had thrown around her, except she was holding the pistol tightly, finger on the trigger, it wasn't aimed in any direction, but Lori still wanted her to drop it.

"Paula…" she said again but she was cut off by the distraught woman, she spoke in an uncharacteristic harsh and rough voice.

"You know what had kept me going? The thought that my husband and child would be at home waiting for me." She said quickly, she was shaking badly and still not looking at Lori, "I thought they would be there for certain, that they would be waiting for me, hidden away in some bedroom waiting for rescue." She mumbled the last few words and began to rock as she gripped the gun tighter, Lori made to take it but the woman moved away, looking at her for the first time.

"Paula please…" Lori tried to beg but the woman spoke over her again.

"No Lori. You don't get to talk. You don't get to tell me things will be okay because they just won't!" she said loudly and Lori cast a glance over to Carl's room where he and Sophia probably were, she didn't want her son to see this.

"Carol…" Lori said looking at the frail woman and she nodded, receiving Lori's silent message immediately and walking off to find the children. Paula snorted.

"Don't tell me you are trying to keep Carl out of this. You know you can't keep him safe forever Lori." She said bluntly, Lori sat in a state of shock, Paula had lost it.

"Okay Paula you really need to just think."

"I am thinking. I am thinking that I can't do this. I can't do this without them." She said quickly looking Lori straight in the eye again; they were red from all the crying and bloodshot. Lori had never seen Paula like this before; she had always been so strong when Lori needed help…

"Sweetie…" Lori tried to console her but Paula stood up this time, the cloak falling from her shoulders as she lifted the gun to her head.

"No! Just be quiet! I don't want to suffer anymore Lori! It has only been a week tops and I am already losing it! I have lost all I hold dear and you want me to stay here! You are stupider than I thought…" Paula looked broken, Lori saw the strong shell this woman always wore break away to reveal the frail inside, the inside that had loved her husband and daughter so much.

"Paula don't please… Please you don't have to do this." Lori begged tears forming in her eyes; tears were also in Paula's.

"Please Lori… Let me go… Just let me go…" she wept and Lori saw her finger loosen on the trigger, as she began to fall to the ground, Lori almost dove to catch her but Paula kept her grip on the gun, as she hit the floor she kept the gun to her head. Lori knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Paula… You gotta understand… You can't go like this… We need you here… I need you here. I don't want to be in this world without my best friend…" she began to cry as she hugged Paula to her. Paula sobbed and wailed loudly as Lori saw her let go of the gun, she pushed it across the hardware floor and it disappeared under a cabinet as Paula clutched onto her, Lori saw Carol poke her head around the corner and she nodded towards the gun, Carol snuck over to the cabinet and withdrew the gun before walking back over to the master bedroom.

"Lori… I'm so scared… They were all I had left Lori…" she wailed as Lori supported her up, the day had been too much for her herself but for Paula it had been overwhelming. Lori guided her to the guest bedroom as she helped Paula into bed.

The woman was a shadow of what she was a mere 3 hours ago, but as she slept in the bed to where Lori sat she looked peaceful…

Lori wondered if it was worth it… Wondered if it was worth staying in this world...

She had lost her husband, most likely most of her friends and neighbours and her family… She couldn't help but wonder if Paula had the right idea.

No… No! She did not! Lori couldn't let herself think like that. She was not going to leave Carl alone in this world. She wasn't going to let this world claim her son; she would fight to her death to ensure that wouldn't happen. She couldn't bear the thought of Carl being by himself here…

She would _never _let that happen.

_Never…_

_NEVER._

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shane pried the doors open carefully, he was relieved when he heard no alarms blare or saw nothing lunge for him. This could actually be a successful run…

"Right let's get this shit done…" Ed slurred beside him as he pushed through brandishing the axe. Shane nearly chastised him for doing so but decided if Ed found a walker he could probably deal with it.

"You take canned foods and I will take drinks and whatever is on the floor." Shane ordered as he saw Ed split off to one side of the store. Shane was annoyed by the slim pickings in the store, bottled water and canned ham were all that he could find, he also found small cans of soup and some beans. Would have to do…

"Hey man what about this?" Shane heard Ed echo from the back of the store, Shane walked around to see Ed handling some dog food and looking at Shane.

"Whaddya think? Maybe we could cook it or something?" Ed asked and Shane scoffed loudly.

"Ed, fuck's sake, that's for dogs. Come on man be serious." He said as he turned, he quickly turned back when he heard the can smash into the floor loudly, Ed was doing that thing with his eyes again, they were bluging out of his head.

"How 'bout some respect ass-wipe? I break my back for you sometimes and I get shit all in return." He raged holding the axe tightly, he raised his voice loudly but Shane took no notice. He had had enough.

"Okay you listen to me you sack of shit. You do barely anything for the group, what is your job exactly? Hold an axe, smoke cigarettes and scare your family?" Shane accused as Ed's eye twitched as he started to turn away.

"You don't know what you're talking 'bout…" he mumbled but Shane pressed on.

"They hell I don't. I know what you do to your wife Ed and Lori told me what she thinks you do to your daughter. I gotta tell you fat-ass I have seen worse people than you in my line of work but the people like you… They don't usually last long under my eye." Shane threatened, it was a complex threat but Ed seemed to wrap his head around it.

"You gonna kill me? Hell you don't have the motherfucking balls! Go on then pop me one!" He shouted and Shane raised the shotgun and aimed at his face.

"I might just!" he shouted as he looked into Ed's shocked face, there were a few moments of silence as Shane held Ed in his sights.

"You're lucky I ain't some goddamn murderer." Shane muttered as he lowered the gun, Ed however looked even more scared as he glanced over Shane's shoulder.

"What?" Shane asked as he turned to see a walker lunge for him, a freakin' massive son of a bitch. Shane raised the shotgun and fired as Ed moved beside him, the walker falling as its head exploded.

Shane turned to the man to see him scoop up the axe as another walker appeared from behind a shelf behind him.

"Ed!" Shane yelled but it was too late, even as the man turned with the axe ready the walker caught hold of one of the man's flabby forearms and bit down hard.

"AAAAGH FUCK!" Ed yelled as he was caught in the walkers grasp, blood spurted from his arm as another walker appeared from a Staff Only door, Shane raised the gun to fire but Ed fell in his line of fire and into the walker, beneath Ed the second walker bit into his neck, splitting open the jugular and showering both walkers in blood.

Shane stood in shock for a moment as Ed was eaten alive, the blood loss cut off his voice as he just stared at Shane, it took Shane only a few moment to regain his focus but in that time more walkers had entered the store.

"Shit!" Shane yelled as he dodged a nearby walker, he swung the shotgun and battered the walker who flew into a nearby shelf falling over; another few walkers joined the feeding frenzy that used to be Ed obscuring him from view. Shane winced when he saw the limp man's arm fall and be set upon by a smaller walker.

"Sorry man…" Shane muttered before running out of the side door, there were several walkers surrounding him but he jumped on top of a nearby pick-up and used it to get over the wall separating the parking lot from the thrift store next door.

Cut off from the packs view Shane sat for a moment to regain his breath. Ed was dead and gone… Shane had managed to keep a hold of the backpack and its somewhat lousy contents. He looked around the dank and smelly alley and took a moment to stop and think.

He had to get back to Lori and Carl.

He turned on his heel and marched down to the main road.

He needed to be quick.

_I've wanted to kill him for many chapters now :-P Big thanks to SilverSun09 once more and to my readers. I welcome feedback and urge you to help me where necessary_

_The next instalments may take a while since I uploaded this after I checked it over so you guys have read all I have written so far._

_Stay with me :-P_


	11. One Week Later

_Apologies to anyone who read Chapter 11 in the hour following its posting. I made the mistake of uploading Chapter 11 from another story, the mistake has been corrected and I apologise for any confusion caused._

Chapter 11:

One Week Later…

Two weeks.

She couldn't believe it… Two weeks.

Two weeks since it had all started. Two weeks since the dead had risen. Two weeks with nobody helping them.

Lori paced in the kitchen frantically losing her last strands of sanity. Surely it couldn't be two weeks… It hadn't been that long had it? Well the calendar wasn't lying; it had been two weeks since this mess had started and nothing had happened that even signalled an end to this.

Lori was properly scared now, in her heart she had always felt like there was someone out there, someone going from town to town evacuating people, getting them out, but with two weeks having gone by and them not seeing another human being except for themselves her and her group had come to the shocking realisation.

All was lost.

Some came to the realisation faster than others. Paula was there since the moment she had shot her husband. Just over a week and she hadn't done anything, she had just layed in that bed, gotten up, eaten what little food they had, cleaned up, gone back to bed and slept. Lori knew lost hope when she saw it… and Paula had lost hope.

Second was Carol, the woman had collapsed to her knees and cried when she heard about Ed.

Ed.

Shane had barely made it back by nightfall, he looked terrible, he had brought a little food back with him from the gas station but no gas and no Ed. He said the man had been bitten and overrun, Lori never liked the man, she thought he was a terrible influence on Carl and a danger to them all but he didn't deserve to die like that. Not as a piñata for the walkers to crack open.

Carol has told Lori that this world was lost and that Ed was in hell for what he did. She said she would keep her daughter alive but she couldn't help but relish the freedom of heaven, Lori had been scared that the woman was contemplating suicide but remembered that she had a daughter here. She has Sophia to draw strength from like Lori had Carl.

Shane was out again, they had little to no food once more and the water was low, Shane had been going out every second day to help them. Lori didn't want him to go alone but knew that she and the other women would only slow him up somewhat, he was doing his best but it was barely enough.

"Lori." Paula called from the other room, Lori broke from her daydream and walked into the living room where Carol, Carl and Sophia sat on the sofa playing checkers, Lori saw Paula looking between the drapes out the front. Lori was concerned about Paula, she hadn't saw a hint of emotion all day and had received a cold demeanour from her formerly-fun friend.

"What is it?" she asked looking at the woman. Carol rose and looked out the front as well.

"What?" the fragile woman asked, Paula kept her eyes on the outside.

"I saw something." She said simply, Lori let out a frustrated sigh but spoke calmly.

"What?" she asked again but Paula still didn't turn around.

"I think I saw someone running past, there is definitely a walker out there." She explained and Lori's heart stopped.

"What?! Get away from the windows then!" she ordered in a loud whisper as she dragged Paula and Carol back and moved the drapes so they were completely closed. Carl and Sophia stopped their game and looked at their parent worryingly.

"Mom, what is it?" Carl asked as Lori crouched beside him.

"Stay close and stay quiet." She ordered as Carol held onto Sophia, they knew the drill for walker sightings, to make extra sure the walkers didn't see them they always hid out in the guest room since it is the only room that has a window that doesn't face the street but the yard.

They sat in the guest room for several minutes as Carl and Sophia chatted quietly, they chatted about silly stuff as kids did, school, television and their old friends. Lori sat next to Carol on the bed as Paula was pacing.

Lori really wished she would stop, it was giving her a headache, however when she opened her mouth to say something she was cut off by the sound of a man yelling outside.

Everyone stopped everything for a moment, Carl and Sophia stopped talking and Paula stopped pacing as Carol grabbed Lori's arm.

"What was that?" she asked Lori who was frozen in place.

"Probably nothing." She answered but Paula took over.

"Didn't sound like nothing." She said moving out of the bedroom, Carol followed as Lori turned to the kids.

"Stay here." She ordered and they both nodded, Lori followed the two women as Paula picked up the machete from the couch (Shane said that he had lost the axe with Ed) and looked outside the drapes with Lori by her side. There was nothing outside but another shout erupted, this time out of view from beside the house.

"Sounds like someone's in trouble." Paula said as she made for the door however Lori stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Paula you can't go out there, what about the walkers?" Lori said firmly but Paula wrenched free.

"They are attacking someone Lori we can't leave them out there!" she shouted as she wrenched the door open before Lori could stop her, with a worried look back at Carol Lori ran after her and tried to grab her again but Paula was running around the street and on the other side of the house now, Lori tried to keep up with her but saw there were no walkers outside.

"Paula get back inside!" she shouted as Paula ran ahead but she stopped dead when she looked around the corner, as Lori caught up to her she grabbed her arm but let go when she saw.

A man in a green shirt and beige pants was being set upon, he didn't look bitten but a walker was on top of him, the man was struggling and shouting as he writhe beneath the creature.

"You grab the gun?" Paula asked as they ran forward.

"No!" Lori yelled hesitant, should she run back and get it?

"Fuck!" Paula shouted and ran ahead of Lori who stopped, she wanted to scream at Paula to stop, she didn't want to lose her but the red-headed woman was set as she ran up to the walker yelling what could be a war-cry, as she closed in on the walker she swung the machete hard and caught it in the face.

Lori flinched and stepped back feeling a body behind her, she turned to see another walker looking at her. It was an elderly woman but missing it's lower jaw, Lori screamed and tried to move away but it grabbed onto her and pushed her down, however before it could do much more the machete had embedded itself in its skull. Lori looked up to see the man standing over her holding the machete which was still embedded in the walkers head.

"Are you ok?" Paula asked as she helped Lori up, Lori nodded a bit lost for words as she finally got a good look at the man before her.

She didn't notice it before but she had recognised him, his neat brown hair and slightly off-kilter facial features were dead obvious.

It was Fred Drake.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Fred?" Lori asked the man as Paula stood beside her, she was still coursing with the adrenaline from her second walker kill, she hadn't even thought about it, she had just seen who was now known as Fred under a walker and drawn on instinct.

"Lori! Great to see you again! And you must be Paula!" he greeted happily hugging Lori, Lori hugged him back and in a rush of understanding Paula remembered him, she had met Cindy briefly at Lori's 28th Birthday party but hadn't met Fred, she had heard about him off Lori though.

"Oh my God so good to see you are unharmed. Where's Cindy?" she asked the happy demeanour vanishing as they remembered where they were again, Fred's face fell into confusion then into a look of fear.

"Cindy. She was with me on Salem Road… We were heading back to our house. Cindy wanted to get some things… We got split up when the walkers came, I gave her the gun and I drew them away so she could get there!" Fred shouted as Lori's face turned stone white. Fred looked at them before looking back towards where Salem Street was.

"We gotta go get her Lori!" he shouted as he gripped the machete tighter, Paula was all for it but knew Lori would never come with; Carl was still inside with Carol and Sophia.

"Fred I can't. Carl is in the house… We can wait for Shane to get back and he can go with you." She offered but Fred shook his head.

"No… I gotta go now, she doesn't know how to shoot Lori she could die!" he sounded frantic as Lori started panicking.

"Fred I can't…" she strained but Paula stepped forward.

"I will go with you. Lori you go find Carl and close up shop, I will try and find my way back when I can." She ordered, Lori looked shocked but nodded her head.

"Thank you." Lori said as she turned on her heel and sprinted back towards her house. Paula turned to Fred to see him looking at her.

"You ready?" he asked and Paula nodded, never had she been so scared yet so ready for adventure.

"Then let's go." He said before taking off towards Salem Road, Paula hot on his heels.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They had been hiding out in the house for a week. Morgan knew it was only a matter of time before they ran low on food again but they had hit the jackpot here, it had enough food for a week with their added provisions.

"Too good to be true yeah?" Hannah said beside him in the kitchen, he could see the Drake's had spent what looked like thousands on a new kitchen set, the black bench tops were still shining like they were brand new. Morgan couldn't deny he had enjoyed cooking in a clean and shiny kitchen again.

"Perhaps. I like to think we just got lucky." Morgan said and the woman smiled, Hannah had looked worn the last few days, she and him had been talking about going on a food run for at least a few days but neither were anxious to leave the house.

"Mom." A small voice came from behind them in the living room, Hannah smiled at Morgan before following her small daughter, Morgan had grown to like Jamie and Billy more as they came out of their shells more… Well Jamie did anyway. Billy didn't speak to Morgan much since he mostly just hung around Duane or Jamie, Jamie was a very polite girl and was very witty but Morgan knew she was scared, just trying to be a big girl.

As Hannah left Morgan looked across the kitchen at Duane, he was sat staring off out the window into the back garden, Morgan looked to see two colourful birds flying around each other. Morgan had seen something like this on the discovery channel or something, the male bird would often pester and follow the female bird trying to woo her with elegant or crude mating rituals, by the looks of things outside the female wasn't that interested, considering she was trying to fly away from him.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Morgan said as he sat next to his son, Duane had been quiet the last few days as had the other kids. Morgan knew that Duane was still in mourning over Jenny, hell Morgan was… But Duane was only a kid, he and Morgan had exhausted themselves talking about it over the last few days and Morgan knew they had spoken all that they needed to.

"Kinda… I always preferred the other birds though, the dark coloured ones that hang around our school." He said as the birds flew the coop, he had been getting better with general conversation but it still stung and Morgan knew the feeling.

Morgan had found the way to cope without Jenny by looking at her life. She had lived it full and happy; she had always been spontaneous and did what she loved when she wanted to. An upside to her death was that she didn't have to live in this world… Morgan knew that having to sit inside for days at a time and be constantly hiding would drive her insane. She was always the one who was going out and Morgan was always being the level headed one but he loved it like that… He could take solace knowing that Jenny hadn't seen too much of this horrible new world and she had died before her life was stripped away.

Suddenly he heard something, a knock from the basement. He turned to Duane and saw by the look on his face that he had heard it too.

"Daddy…" he said quietly but Morgan shushed him, he moved through to the living room to see Hannah, Jamie and Billy all sitting frozen as they looked at Morgan, Morgan looked at Hannah and nodded as he sent Duane over to her. They had planned that in the case of home invasion Hannah would guard the kids and Morgan would deal with intruders. Morgan grabbed his revolver off the kitchen counter and made his way to the basement, he knew that there was a hatch that led into an alleyway near the back garden but it had been locked from the outside. Morgan was sure walkers couldn't pick locks.

He opened the door to the basement and picked up one of the flashlights by the door. He shined it around the room to see if anything was there whilst holding the revolver aloft, he knew he should have bought the axe instead but in the dark with next to no light he didn't want to risk it.

He looked around the many shelves that the Drake's had in their basement, when they had first checked Morgan and Hannah had actually laughed there had been so much stuff, it was a goody basement.

Morgan was growing weary, nothing had jumped him yet and he knew walkers weren't well known for their hunting prowess, their main tactic was to find food and lumber after it.

Morgan laughed at his mental joke but stopped when he heard the hammer of the gun click behind and the hand on his should squeeze hard.

"Don't fucking move." A surprisingly delicate voice ordered as Morgan turned around, in the dark he couldn't see the woman's face but he knew not to fuck with her, he could see the gun pointed at his own face.

"I don't want any trouble." Morgan said calmly but the gun seemed to be shaking in front of him and the woman sounded scared.

"This is my house. Me and my husband own it and you need to leave." Her voice quivered but she held the gun still at his face.

"Wait… You own this house?" Morgan asked as a light bulb flashed in his mind illuminating the dark room with understanding.

"Yes."

"Then you must be Cindy Drake." Morgan said but this did nothing to calm her.

"Look. This is my house, me and my husband have had it for years and when he gets here you will be sorry so you should just…" however the threat died in her throat as she looked over Morgan's shoulder, Morgan turned to see Hannah there holding a gun pointing at Cindy, however when she saw the blonde Cindy lowered the gun and spoke in a choked up voice.

"Hannah…" she said timidly and stepped forward out of the darkness into the illumination of the the room above, in the light Morgan could see Cindy was in a state, in a photo upstairs she had looked stunning, she had shoulder length black hair, subtle Asian features that gave a look of sophistication and a beautiful skin tone, however now the elegance was gone.

What was once probably a nice knee length red dress with a denim jacket on top was now tattered and somewhat bloodied, the denim was torn in places and she had no shoes on, her face was scratched and there were cuts and bruises on her legs.

"Cindy!" Hannah rung out holstering the gun and hugging her friend, Morgan sighed a sigh of relief when he realised Cindy was no threat; she was just scared that people were in her old home.

"Oh my God you're alive… I panicked when I saw your car crashed over on my way here! I thought you had died. What about the kids? Jamie? Billy?" she asked franticly and Hannah nodded through tears.

"They are okay… Oh Cindy I am so happy you are okay… Where's Fred?" she asked and Cindy began to cry some more.

"I don't know. I group of the dead people spotted us near the park and before I knew it he gave me his gun and drew them away… He told me he would meet me here later or something." She whimpered and Hannah pulled her into another hug as she glanced at Morgan, he knew Hannah was thinking the same thing as him.

Fred was probably dead.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Paula stuck close to Fred as they crept through the street, hiding behind cars and in yards so they wouldn't be spotted, Paula remembered that Fred had been in the National Guard or something once according to Lori but Paula didn't really listen. She didn't know these people really.

"How much further?" she asked and Fred looked back slightly irritated.

"See that house near the end of the street near that body with the white shirt? That's us" Paula looked and saw the body of the walker he was talking about, the head was a messy pulp on the road side near two other walker bodies… Paula could have sworn that was where Ed had hit those two others on the way to Paula's house…

The house…

_Fuck, don't do this to yourself Paula. Not now. Do it later when you have time to yourself you stupid bitch._

Paula's brain was harsh but it had a point, she couldn't let those thoughts break her down again until she had time for it. Now she needed to be alert, prepared and ready to fight to the death should a walker sneak up on her. Her heart was still pounding from when she saw the walker behind Lori, she hadn't even yelled out or anything to warn her before Fred had snatched the machete and buried it in the walkers head.

"Got it. Let's go." She said as she ran alongside Fred, the street was clear of all walkers, there had been a few more recently but it seemed this area was clean of them. Fred walked in front of her and walked up to the front door of the house, all the drapes where closed and there was no light from within.

"Looks empty." Paula said but Fred wasn't listening, he had a key in his hand and was fiddling with the lock, it was tedious work and Paula was getting antsy, what if a walker saw.

Then, without warning, the door flew open and Paula saw hands grab Fred and toss him inside, Paula made to run but a hand caught arm and pulled hard, caught unawares she tripped and pulled inside as the door closed behind them.

Paula opened her eyes to see a gun in her face as Fred was lying next to her.

"Stop, it's him!" she heard a woman shout and saw Fred pulled to his feet, lights went on as Paula made to stand as well, she looked around and saw multiple people around her, Fred was hugging a woman on her left saying 'Cindy' over and over again.

Looks like Cindy made it.

She looked in front of her and saw a middle aged black man holding a revolver and a slightly taller woman with long blonde hair holding the gun that had been shoved in her face moments before.

"Sorry about that but we had to make sure. I'm Hannah." She said extending a hand, Paula shook it tenderly, she didn't like how all these people had guns except for her.

"I'm Paula." She said simply as she withdrew her hand, she looked around and was shocked to see kids in the back ground. There was a dark skinned kid who look like a young teen standing close to a blonde girl who looked a lot like Hannah, behind them stood a young boy who could be no more than 8 or 9 surely. The older man stepped forward to shake her hand.

"I'm Morgan. There is my kid Duane and those two are Hannah's kids Jamie and Billy." He said as he shook her hand and gestured to the kids, Duane waved and Jamie smiled as Billy just looked on, Paula was still in some kind of shock so she just waved and gave a small smile before looked at everyone, they all looked at her and they realised that she was the odd one out here.

"How many more people are here?" she asked and Fred looked at Cindy who looked at Hannah and Morgan.

"No-one else just us. Until 5 minutes ago we hadn't seen another living person, then Cindy broke in. By the way how did you do that?" Morgan asked and Cindy chuckled.

"Picking a lock is easier when you have the key." She said slyly producing a key from her pocket; she still hung onto Fred as Paula looked back at the door.

"I don't want to be a drag but I come from a group myself, I gotta get back they need me there." She said simply and everyone eyes lit up with the prospect of more survivors.

"There are more?" Cindy asked excitedly.

"Lori's there Cindy. Lori, Carl and Shane made it back with Paula." He said and Cindy smiled and laughed as more tears sprung to her eyes, Paula could see the last few weeks had been tough for her as well.

"That's great! But what do we do about it?" Hannah asked beside Paula, Paula noticed she was kinda right; neither house was big enough for both of their groups and the distance between was too long.

"I don't know. If I can get to them I can talk with them about some kind of deal." Morgan said and Paula nodded.

"How many are in your group?" Hannah asked.

"There are 6 of us left. 2 kids around Duane's age… Maybe younger, Lori and Shane which some of you know and another woman called Carol who is mother to one of the children. We aren't a strong group though but we have two guns although only Shane knows how to use them effectively, I have used them before." She gave them the situation and saw a few nervous lip bites. Paula supposed they all had that shred of hope that Paula, Shane, Lori and Carl had met up with a crack team of army-ninja's.

"Me and Cindy aren't well armed either. Just the gun Cindy has and a rifle I hid upstairs. You found it?" he asked but Morgan shook his head.

"No we have two pistols here. One for me and one for Hannah, we have silent weapons as well." Morgan said motioning to the axe and shovel on the sofa, Fred held the machete up as everyone looked at Paula.

"I came here unarmed but that machete it ours, we lost an axe with a member of the group so we are close to empty." She said and Hannah nodded and looked at the group.

"Okay here is what we should do. Morgan you go with Paula back to her group with Cindy since she knows Lori. Fred you stay here with me and we can check the maps for local areas that can hold us. If our groups are indeed meeting up then we need somewhere bigger." Hannah ordered and Paula was a bit surprised, she had pegged Hannah as some kind of follower but she seemed smart, everyone nodded as Cindy hugged her husband again before trying to give back the gun. Fred however pressed it back to her whispering in her ear. Paula's heart turned cold as she remembered again that her husband was dead.

_Seriously don't do it Paula. You need to be strong just a little while longer._

Her brain was really getting on her nerves but it was right. Fred handed her the machete and smiled slightly in what Paula took was the silent thanks for saving his life. Morgan drew his revolver before hugging his son goodbye then hugging Hannah, Paula didn't know if they were close but in this world someone to really on was needed, seems like these two only had each other lately.

Paula stepped out the door first, thankfully the street was still empty as she walked out in front of Morgan and Cindy, she looked around and saw only them so she decided they would take the quick route to get to Lori's, this needed to be sorted before the sun went down which was looking to be soon.

She looked back at Morgan and Cindy before she felt the pressure land on her, they were waiting for her instructions and they were following her leads. The joy of finding people vanished as she realised these people were relying on her.

"Lead the way captain." Morgan said smiling slightly, Paula tries to smile but it didn't feel like it worked as she stepped into the street trying to remember the way back.


	12. Scattered

Another thanks to SilverSun09 and me wee handful of followers Hope you like it.

Chapter 12:

Scattered

"And you let her go with him?!" Shane yelled a bit too loudly for Lori's comfort; she stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes! Fred can protect her, he sure as hell protected me." Lori replied and she saw Shane stress, it had only been 20 minutes since Paula and Fred had gone to find Cindy but Shane had come back shortly after their departure. Shane was pacing in the living room as Lori stood in front of him. Carol was with Carl and Sophia in the other room

"Lori we can't just let out people wander off willy-nilly. We are down to 6 people and Paula doesn't have what it takes to survive. What happened? She kills one walker and she thinks she's Rambo or something?"

"She wanted to help. Hell if Carl wasn't in the house I would have gone with him, Shane you have to understand we can't just sit here whilst you go and fetch food and gas." She said angrily and Shane stopped pacing and looked at her.

"I'm sorry Lor… I'm just worried. I care for all of you and if something was to happen under my watch…" he sounded worried and Lori gave him a reassuring hug. She had known Shane for years and he was practically her best friend next to Paula.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine. She'll be back once they find Cindy." She broke the hug and saw Shane looking at her that way again.

"It's not her I'm worried about…" he said lightly and Lori felt her heart flutter, she could feel his body tense against hers, feel his muscles beneath his shirt, feel the man holding onto her…

Lori pushed away from him abruptly before her body took control; she looked at him and spoke in a faltering voice.

"Shane not now… Not now…" she said her voice quivering; Shane looked down at his feet frustrated.

"So what now then? We just sit on our asses waiting for them to come back?" he asked angrily and Lori knew he was pissed off by her rejection, Lori didn't blame him but she knew he had to accept the fact that she was still her husband's wife.

"Yes. If they aren't back by 7 then you go to Fred's house, you know where it is. Just off Salem…" Lori began but the cop waved her off.

"I know, I know… It's my job; I know this town like the back of my hand. She has one hour then I am going after her." He threatened before walking into the guest bedroom; Lori sighed and sat down on the bed holding her head in her hands.

Shane was stressed, hell they all were. She didn't know what they would do… She was relying on Shane to find somewhere else to go. The house couldn't hold 6 people let alone more and walker presence was increasing by the day.

They needed a plan and fast.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Morgan ducked behind the wall as the walker lumbered by; he was waiting for the magic moment and was rewarded when the walker turned away from where they were. He jumped from behind the wall and struck the walker down with one blow of the machete, the former man slumped forward dead as Morgan looked around; there were no other walkers around.

"Clear." He said as Paula and Cindy emerged from the shadows, the both had their guns ready as Morgan took the lead, they had had to kill 5 walkers on their way here so far and there were still two streets to go.

"How is Lori?" Morgan heard Cindy ask Paula, the red-headed woman had been quiet since they left and Morgan knew she was scared, Morgan had worn that face for the first week of the apocalypse before becoming accustomed to beating in the heads of walkers.

"She is okay, she and Carl made it out with me and Shane." She said simply as she looked over her shoulder, they walked quickly but cautiously, it only took one to see you then they would all be on top of you.

"Oh good, Rick?" she asked and he assumed that was Lori's husband.

"Didn't make it apparently, Shane said he was dead." Paula replied in a low voice, Morgan felt the familiar bubble of sadness inside at hearing about another life lost. A feeling he was becoming all too well accustomed with.

"Oh dear… What about you? Are Tom and Freya okay?" Cindy asked, for a few seconds Paula didn't answer and Morgan knew why… She was doing exactly what Morgan would do when someone asks him what happened to Jenny, trying to swallow the pain and answer the question.

"No… Just no…" her voice sound choked and Morgan knew she was losing the battle against the tears. He didn't have time for this…

"Let's save the chitchat for later. We gotta get to this Lori and her group before the sun goes down." He said looking at his watch, 5:43. Not much light left at this time of year.

"I agree." Paula said behind him as she walked in front of Morgan, he heard sniffing and knew she was brushing away tears. Morgan felt sorry for her, she was clearly in a lot of pain, but that was the new world… That was the pain everyone was feeling.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fred and Hannah had been looking at the map with the kids for 20 minutes and still nothing looked good.

"The high school?" Fred suggested but Hannah shook her head.

"Went there when I was younger, place had worse security then an open gate." She said and he went back to the map. She had only known him for the 25 minutes he had been there and she didn't know a lot about him, however by studying him she could work out that he was at least a good survivor.

"The shopping mall?" Jamie asked but this time Fred shook his head.

"Me and Cindy were there for a week. Walkers got a hold of the place; we barely made it out as it is."

"Maybe the motel just outside of King County. You know the one off the highway…" Fred asked but Hannah had to once more reject him.

"No a motel won't be enough security. We need somewhere secure, somewhere solid, somewhere which will be able to hold us all and keep the walkers out." She said looking at the map again but it was all just starting to look the same.

"I know what you mean but there is nothing here in King County which can do that." Fred said and Duane leant over the map further, Hannah sighed and sat back in her seat, she hadn't slept well the last few nights and she was beginning to feel it on her body, every muscle felt like it had been set in concrete and her eyes were becoming heavier each time she even though about the map.

"The university campus?" Duane asked.

"Nah that was where the refugees went, it's a graveyard now." Fred rebutted.

"The hospital?" Jamie asked but Fred shot her down again.

"Nah, me and Cindy saw it, half of it is blown to smithereens, something crashed into it at some point." Silence followed but Hannah already had an idea, an idea Fred or anyone else wouldn't like.

"The Police Station." She announced and Fred turned to face her.

"What? Are you crazy?" he asked as the children recoiled at the sharpness of his voice. He looked at Hannah as though she was crazy but she knew she wasn't.

"No. Think about it Fred. They have food for the officers there, it is close to the shopping district so there are supplies nearby and if I am not wrong there should be a cache of weapons there. Plus think of all the cells there, they would be able to hold but if we bought the right bedding." She reasoned, she saw Fred think it over in his head.

"Hannah I don't know…" he said unsurely but Hannah needed to drive the point home.

"Come on Fred! When Morgan and Cindy come back we can at least look at it. Even if we can't stay there we can scavenge the place for weapons and ammo which is something we are lacking in." she continued and she saw Fred begin to cave in.

"Let's just wait for Cindy and Morgan to get back, we need everyone here to make the decision." He said firmly and Hannah conceded defeat on the matter happy with the results. The police station wasn't the best idea but it was the best she had. King County wasn't a big place so beyond the shopping mall or the hospital there weren't many places where they could hold out.

Fred rolled up the map as the kids walked back through into the living room, ever since meeting the kids had grown closer even though they didn't speak that much. Hannah supposed it helped since she needed a break from the kids sometimes…

"Are you sure about the police station?" Fred asked her and she nodded.

"I dated a police officer there a while ago, you know Leon Bassett? Guy was a klutz if I ever saw one… Well I visited him there once or twice and that place is secure. I remember he told me that place could hold 30 drunkards and was the place to go when the world ended." She said and she could see the unsure look in Fred's face.

"I dunno Hannah… That place would have been where people went after the hospital. It could be overrun for all we know." He argued and Hannah sighed in a frustrated manner.

"Then we clear it out. Fred I need you to stop stepping over all of our ideas. Just because something could go wrong doesn't mean it will." She said in a frustrated voice, she saw the man grimace which with his features looked like he had a tick under his eye.

"I'm being realistic Hannah."

"You're being counter-productive; I need everyone to be thinking positive." Hannah stood up as she argued; she looked through the hall and saw her kids looking at them through the hall.

"I am trying but you…" Fred began to argue but she cut him off.

"Shut up the kids are watching. Go upstairs and get your goddamn rifle, if this place is as overrun as you say then you go upstairs and keep watch out of the second story window, don't get yourself spotted." Hannah said spitefully, even though he seemed to be able-bodied and a good survivor Hannah was beginning to dislike his pessimistic attitude.

"One question. Why did you send Cindy out with Morgan and that Paula woman instead of me?" he asked and Hannah grinned.

"I wanted someone around who could protect the children with me. No offence but your wife looks like she is more nail polish than firearms." She said slyly she was rewarded with a dirty look as Fred stomped off throwing a scowl her way, as he did so Hannah put her gun in her waistband; she unfolded the map again and checked over their current location again. Paula's group's house was only 4 streets away.

What the hell was keeping them?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Walkers were what were keeping them.

"They're everywhere, we can't take them all on at once." Cindy stated the obvious as Morgan hid with her and Paula behind the hedge across the street from the house, the light was beginning fade and in-between them and the house were three walkers.

"We could shoot them?" Paula suggested but Morgan shook his head.

"And attract more of them? May I remind you we have to make our way back soon?" Morgan scolded and he saw Paula roll her reddened eyes.

"We could distract them, have one person lead them off whilst the other two go through and alert the others." Cindy suggested.

"What about the third person?" Paula asked.

"They can circle back, the things can't run losing them isn't too hard." She responded with a scared look at Morgan which Paula joined in on.

"No we can't split up more, I have an idea but you won't like it." He continued to explain his plan and the responses where as he expected.

"Morgan we can't do that!" Cindy whispered but Paula nodded.

"It's the only thing I can think off. What are we using?" she asked as Morgan revised the plan.

"Paula you can have the machete, Cindy can distract hers whilst you prepare to attack it and I will use that shovel." Morgan gestured over to the shovel on the other side of the yard; it looked sturdy enough to do the job.

"No… No way…" Cindy was shaking her head with a scared look in her thin and dainty eyes. Morgan placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We have to, all you need to do is stay out of arms reach okay?" he explained as Paula followed suit, Cindy looked frozen for a minute before nodding tentatively. Morgan felt his heart clench as he grabbed the shovel by the handle and gestured to the two women.

"Now!" he said loudly and he saw the two women lunge as he set his sights on the tall walker closest to him, it looked vaguely like the man who serviced his car last summer but Morgan blanked his memory as he swung the shovel into the man's face, he collapsed as Morgan aimed the sharp end of the shovel down and plunged it into the man head. He looked to his left to see Paula putting her foot on her walkers head to withdraw the stuck machete as Cindy ran towards the house, her frail looking walker following close on her heels.

"Help!" she screamed as Morgan lunged in front of Paula knocking it to the ground with the flat side of the shovel before repeating the manoeuvre he used on the man before, the woman's head cracking clean open.

Paula grabbed Morgan's arm and dragged him up the front porch as the front door swung open and a bulky frame stood by the door.

"Move!" he boomed as Cindy ran past him, Paula and Morgan made it past and the door swung shut beside them.

"You took your sweet time." A voice rang out as she saw another woman hug Paula, Morgan froze for a moment as the woman known as Lori hugged Cindy as Paula hugged Shane, he felt slightly awkward as another woman walked out of the kitchen, she looked frail and delicate as she stood close to two kids, the boy hugged Paula as the young girl stood by Lori.

"Were there anymore following you?" the tall man asked as Morgan shook his head.

"No that was it, we took the long way to make sure we didn't get spotted." Morgan explained as the man placed the shotgun in his arms on the couch, Morgan sighed as he looked around him. Paula was now talking to the frail woman as Lori and Cindy were still talking amongst themselves, even the two kids were chatting away.

"Quiet!" the man said loudly and everyone was silenced, it seemed this man was the leader of the mismatched pack.

"Let's start with introductions. I'm Shane, there is Lori and her kid Carl. Up back are Carol and her daughter Sophia, now I know you're Cindy but who are you?" he asked turning to Morgan, Morgan did feel like the odd one out as it seemed everyone was friends here.

"I'm Morgan, I don't wanna rush you but I want to get back to my boy before sundown." He rushed his speech but Shane seemed unfazed.

"Where is this boy?" he asked.

"Back at Cindy's house we have been hiding out there." Morgan replied feeling agitated.

"How many are there?"

"There was me and my son Duane, a woman called Hannah and her kids Jamie and Billy." Morgan rushed.

"Fred is there to." Cindy chipped in finally letting go of Lori and standing next to her as she ruffled Carl's hair, seemed they were family friends.

"We gotta move if we wanna get back to them." Morgan said but Shane cleared his throat.

"Probably not a good idea man, there are walkers all over and they kick up at night."

"I can't leave my son alone!" Morgan said loudly but this time Paula stepped forward.

"Don't worry Morgan he is with Fred and Hannah." she tried to reason but Morgan still didn't like the idea. His son wasn't safe unless he was with him.

"We can't just stay here the night! What if one of them try and come after us?" Morgan asked but again Cindy spoke up.

"Fred's not stupid, he won't risk going out into the night to save us, he knows that he can really help by keeping him and the kids safe." She reasoned as Morgan breathed deeply, he didn't want to leave his son alone out there but daylight was fading and the dark on any level wasn't the place to meet walkers.

"I can't leave him…" he said somewhat feebly but Paula sat next to him.

"It's okay Morgan it is just one night, and Duane has Fred and Hannah protecting them and they are both armed." She reasoned as Morgan sat back frustrated, all he could think of was Duane waiting by the window for his father to come back, waiting for something that may never happen…

Thinking his father could be dead…

**Remember to review. Reviews are my fuel and I need some feedback **


	13. Negotiations

_Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead that belongs to Robert Kirkman and AMC_

Chapter 13:

Negotiations

Carl was _really _getting sick of this. Not only was he being made to hide and not help out with pretty much anything but now he wasn't even allowed to sit in on the negotiations. His Mom had told Carl and Sophia to go to Carl's room since they were talking nearby; Carl had argued but conceded defeat when she pulled out the 'Mom Face', the face all moms used when they meant what they said.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked from the bed as he paced the room, he always paced when he was nervous or angry, he had guessed the reason he was so skinny was because he paced so much when he was alone with his thoughts.

"I want to listen to what they are saying." He said simply and he saw Sophia roll her eyes and lie back.

"I know Carl so do I but they said we can't go out there so obviously we can't sit with them." She said in a frustrated voice, Carl was about to point it out when he realised this was what Uncle Shane was talking about, he had said to him that once:

"_Never piss off a woman who you spend a lot of time with. Women should always be respected and treated like ladies because the moment you don't they become angry, and you don't want to see a woman angry." _

Uncle Shane's words of wisdom rang in his ears and silenced him; Carl knew Sophia was no woman but he guessed the rule applied to girls too.

"Sorry." He said and sat down next to her, he like spending time with Sophia but she was such a child sometimes, she is what his Mom would call a 'push-over', somebody who does whatever they are told. He liked that Sophia was a nice person and had a big imagination but he didn't like that the moment an adult started to say something she would squeak out a 'yes sir' or 'yes ma'am' and do it.

A few moments of awkward silence passed between them as Carl secretly wished he had continued pacing, whenever he was made to sit still in class his mind would go into overdrive and make him say the stupidest things just to fill the gap in the conversation. He looked over at the young girl and saw her absent-mindedly playing with some change on Carl's bedside table. He couldn't help but realise that she was a pretty girl, he and her had become good friends and Carl found himself staring at her sometimes, he liked how her hair always looked clean and well cared for although he knew she didn't brush it regularly or anything and how it changed colour in different lights, like in the darker light it looked profusely red like Paula's but in light it was a strawberry-blonde.

"I like your hair." He blurted out.

That's when his brain started screaming at him.

_You idiot! You don't just say those things to girls! She is gonna think you're a loser now!_

Carl mentally kicked himself several times before he saw Sophia smile slightly.

"Thanks…" she said and Carl could swear he saw her blush slightly, he felt his face grow a bit warm so he resumed the pacing, he was nervous now because he had been a complete idiot. '_I like your hair'… _what a dumbass thing to say…

"I like your eyes." The timid voice said behind him and Carl felt his face blush even more, what the hell was wrong with him? He had talked to girls he had liked at school before and he hadn't blushed before. Then again none of them had ever said they liked his eyes before…

"Thanks…" he said in the same tone Sophia had used before, he looked at her only to see her looking away. Carl felt his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to things to say to her again, his mind went into maximum overdrive with ideas.

_I like your eyes too._

_I think you're kinda pretty._

_What do you think they are talking about?_

_When is your birthday?_

_Where did you used to live?_

Carl dragged his mind back into place before his mouth ran off again, he went over what he wanted to say again but his mind wanted to make him look like a total dweeb. The silence stretched on and Carl's heart threatened to punch its way out of his chest. He looked over his shoulder and saw Sophia was fiddling with a tassel on the end of Carl's curtain trying to avoid eye contact. Carl's brain had begun to shout at him again.

_Say something you idiot!_

"Wanna see if they will let us listen?" he asked but he saw Sophia shake her head, her face was still red and Carl hoped to God his wasn't.

"I don't want to Carl… I don't want to know what they are talking about…" she said quietly and Carl saw that look in her face again.

He and Sophia had spent a lot of time together recently and Carl had learnt a lot about her. For instance he had learnt that she is a pushover and that she hated broccoli. He knew she loved doing artwork, both her grandpa's fought in the Second World War in some way or another and she was a math genius.

He also knew her facial expressions; she wrinkled her forehead a certain way when she was scared and whenever she was about to cry she would blink a lot and the corners of her mouth would twitch.

The eyes were blinking and the corners were twitching.

"Why?" he asked as he sat back down next to her, their moments of awkwardness fading as the tears fell down her face.

"I just don't want to hear about what is happening outside that is all… It's scary out there." She said and Carl's heart dimmed, he knew Sophia was scared and, truthfully, so was he but he didn't like talking about it. He didn't want Sophia to think he was weak or scared or a loser, he kinda wanted her to think he was a brave person.

"Don't think about it. The more you think about it the scarier it gets so I try not to think about it." Carl said a bit quickly, he put a hand on her shoulder as she tried to desperately tried to dry her eyes but Carl knew her well enough to know once she starts crying Sophia has to keep going. She is a very sensitive person.

"I try not to think about it Carl but when I dream, I dream about being by myself…" she whimpered as her freshly dried eyes refilled with tears. Silence followed and Carl knew that now was the time to say something nice but his mind was clogging up again.

"You don't have to… Well you know you should… you should… You won't alone. Ever." He said clumsily, he cursed himself for being such a nerd but he seemed to have done well when Sophia smiled and slid her arms around him.

"Thanks Carl. I am just scared people will get hurt… I don't want anyone else to get hurt…" she whimpered with her still teary eyes. Carl was willing his heart to stop beating so hard but it didn't stop, he hoped Sophia couldn't feel it against her as he continued talking.

"You won't be alone. Wherever you go I will go and your Mom and mine will go with you and so will Shane and Paula… You will never be alone." He kept hugging her as she wiped away what were hopefully the final tears. Carl's inside were clenching when he thought of little Funny Freya, he and his friend Liam would call her that because when she ate a bag of Skittles once at a party their parents were having she went crazy and started dancing… All he could think about was the moment that his Mom had told him that Uncle Tom and Freya had died. He had surprised himself by not crying, he felt the tears in his eyes but they didn't fall even when his Mom had hugged him.

"Thank you so much Carl." She said as she drew away and they caught each other's eyes and quickly looked away, Carl felt his face grow hot again and wondered what the hell was wrong with him… Why did this _always _happen?

His train of thought was cut off by the door opening and Carol walking in as Carl and Sophia quickly separated, Carl liked Carol, she was very kind and polite even if she did smother Sophia ever hour of every day.

"You guys can come out now, I am about to make some dinner with what we have. Do you guys want some spaghetti?" Carol spoke softly as always, Carl and Sophia looked at each other before nodding and walking through, as soon as Carl entered the room he felt the tension as he looked around and saw Shane pacing with Lori next to him, Cindy was on the couch looking a bit shocked as Carol steered them towards the kitchen.

Some things had just been said and he wanted to know what they were.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Whoa… That was a big one… Cindy had not expected that… She thought they were two completely reasonable and polite people… Well not him so much but she thought the woman was at least reasonable… However they had both just blown that out of the window…

_Cindy stood next to Lori as Shane entered the room with Morgan; the men had been chatting about what to do and now were pitching the idea to the women. A bit old fashioned but from what Lori had told her Shane was a smart guy and Morgan was too, this should be a good idea nonetheless._

_Morgan spoke first._

"_As much as I don't like the idea… We both agree that all of us going out to find the other group would be stupid at this point." He said and Cindy seized at the thought of not being with Fred. He had kept her safe since the outbreak and they hadn't spent a night away from each other, she thought even whilst she was telling Morgan that Fred was a smart man who could protect Hannah and the kids that she would be back to him by sundown… She didn't think it would take so long for them to deliberate a decision._

"_So we just stay here and let Fred worry his goddamn ass off?" Cindy hated using expletives but she was worried and angry. Shane spoke in a harsh voice that made her recoil._

"_Not exactly, Morgan volunteered to head back to your house and let them know what is going on. The plan is for us to go to them in the RV since they have more children." He spoke, it wasn't a threatening sentence but Cindy still recoiled, God he was scary sometimes._

"_You sure that's a good idea?" Lori asked and Morgan nodded._

"_Fred and Hannah may be rational but one stupid decision is all it takes to lose people." Shane said and Cindy didn't like the insinuation, Fred wasn't that stupid and he could often keep a level head… but he was right in a way. All it took was Fred wanting to see his wife or maybe one walker spooking a child into running away… Then it's game over._

"_I don't think he should go alone." Paula challenged looking straight at and, there was something in her eyes. Aggression maybe? It was Cindy's job in the office to read people's expressions and body language but some people were harder than others… Paula was definitely an enigma of sorts._

"_Well we don't want too many people going out there getting lost in the dark." Shane said in the cop-like authority filled voice. Paula however rose to the challenge._

"_Well sending a man by himself out there is stupid Shane. He could get attacked from behind." Paula said loudly, both Lori and Morgan shushed her in case walkers were nearby._

"_Look you don't make the decisions around here Paula." Shane said, this time it was threateningly._

"_Then who does. You? I am beginning to doubt your capabilities Shane." She said and beside her Cindy heard Lori gasp then turn to Shane who had turned vaguely red._

"_What's that supposed to mean?" he asked threateningly, Cindy knew the typical male scare tactic was being used but Paula was unfazed, she jumped straight at it._

"_It means I have doubts Shane. The calls you make sometimes bother me." She seethed and Shane stepped forward ignoring Lori's protest._

"_Shane don't…" she said but Shane ignored her and spoke directly at Paula who stood her ground._

"_I'm gonna let you take that back."_

"_Well you got a long wait Shane." She replied to his threat by standing her ground firmly._

"_Paula please…" Lori tried reasoning with her but Shane cut across her again._

"_Look I have been a good guy to you and Lori and Carl and Carol's family, if you can't appreciate all I do for you then we got a problem." _

"_All you do for us? You leave us for hours on end and when you come back you sit down with a shotgun by your side, apart from that I feel like you are just absent."_

"_Absent? Hell I've done more for this group then you have. Whilst I was out there getting food and supplies you were moping around in bed doing fuck all." Shane spat back and Cindy saw it in Paula's face, the shock which gave way to anger._

"_My husband just died and my daughter along with him! I was going to kill myself Shane! But you didn't care… not one fucking word of comfort off you. You just fucked off again like you always do." Paula seethed back with tears in her eyes, the look on her face was scary as she stared Shane down._

_Something that looked odd considering she was just shorter than Lori._

"_You know I was sorry Tom and Freya died Paula but that is not a qualification. You don't know all the answers just because you lost people." Shane scoffed back and Paula lunged forward pushing him back, Morgan and Lori stepped in between them forcing them apart._

"_You know Shane just because you're a cop and you think you're the smartest doesn't mean you are our leader! Some of us are capable of individual thought and we don't need you telling us otherwise!" Paula nearly shouted as she pushed past Lori and looked Morgan straight in the eye._

"_If you're goin' to the Drake's then I am going with you, can't spend another night in the same house as this asshole." She swore as she sent a scathing look at Shane as she picked up the Glock from the table and tucked it in her waistband. Morgan looked at Shane and shrugged showing he was willing._

"_Did I say you could take a gun?" Shane asked Paula with the mad look on his face but she just stared him down as she walked for the rear door._

"_If you got a problem then either suck it up or shoot me dead. Either way I am goin' tonight. Let's go." She said to Morgan and Cindy saw the man pick up his revolver and follow Paula to the back of the house to leave as Cindy sat down, Lori motioned to Carol who went to where the kids were as Shane paced slightly. As soon as Carol walked in with Carl and Sophia Lori tried to say something but he just waved her off and stormed off to the guest bedroom, Lori waited for second before following him as Carol took Carl and Sophia into the kitchen to, presumably, explain what was happening._

_Cindy was left to sit and think about what she had just seen._

Mere hours ago these people were getting along well and functioning well, but it seemed Cindy had just found the split in the group. For her own sake she analysed the problems she had seen so far, it was an annoying habit she let consume her when she felt a bit helpless.

Shane was controlling.

Paula didn't trust him.

Lori is torn between them.

Cindy knew these were the key issues and they needed solving. But she wasn't at work and it wasn't her problem… Her only concern right now was getting back to Fred and surviving.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"They should be back by now." Fred said as he paced near the second floor window, Hannah sat by the window holding the rifle, she had been practising holding it and aiming but didn't dare fire, they were lucky enough there were no walkers on this road and Hannah didn't care for more corpses to try and scoff her down.

"Stop pacing. They probably decided to stay at this Lori's place, look how dark it is Fred, do you think Morgan or Cindy would chance it out here?" she asked but Fred continued pacing.

"How do we even know they made it there? They could have been attacked or gotten lost…" Fred worried as Hannah groaned.

"It's like 5 blocks Fred they won't get lost. And besides we would know if they were attacked… Morgan and Cindy were armed with guns; they would start shooting if things got too bad." Hannah consoled in a rather gruff voice, she was getting sick of Fred's worrying but he had every right… If it was it her husband or children out there she would be the same. Luckily both kids were downstairs playing Snap or something with cards and the husband was divorced and eaten.

"Well I don't like this… Maybe I should go out and find Lori's house…" he wondered but Hannah cut him off harshly.

"No you need to stay, if not for your own safety then for mine and the kids. I've only killed a handful of walkers before and half of them were lucky shots… If walkers find us I can't protect all three kids by myself." She said and she saw Fred slump then fall back into the chair opposite her, he looked so worn and tired, when the last time he slept? Not recently by any measure, not with that look on his face.

"You're right… It's just that I'm scared for Cindy you know?" he said and Hannah nodded sympathetically.

"I know what you mean… She'll be fine though."

"I know… Just whenever I'm not with her or I don't know what's happening I can't help but think what could have happened." Fred slumped back even further.

"I'm the same with Morgan… The few times he went out of the house this week I couldn't help but fear for him." Hannah revealed, as much as she didn't like being to dependant on one person she had to admit that in this world Morgan was her rock, he was the one she leant on for support and she knew it was the same with him. Although it had only been two weeks since the outbreak she couldn't help but realise that all they had was each other to defend their kids.

"I hope they're okay…" he said quietly and Hannah understood the silent plea, she got up from the chair and handed Fred the rifle before heading down the stairs, downstairs Billy was playing with his ball-and-cup (an excellent find in the Drake's basement, kept Billy entertained for hours), Jamie was reading a TIME magazine (for lack of better things to do) and Duane was peeking through a gap in the drapes. Hannah sighed and moved through to the kitchen as Billy abandoned the game and followed her in.

"Mom?" he asked as he entered, Billy had been quiet the last few weeks, probably from shock, but lately he had started talking more.

"Yes sweetie?"

"When is Daddy coming home?" he asked and Hannah heart fell, she had been dreading this but knew it was coming. Jamie was old enough to at least have a basic knowledge and take it in but Billy was only 9… He was curious.

"Um… Daddy's not coming home." Hannah said kneeling down to Billy so she could talk face to face but only saw confusion on his.

"You mean he is still at the house?" he asked and Hannah felt the feeling of dread only expand.

"Not quite… I'm so sorry sweetie but Daddy is…dead." She said and she saw Billy go visibly white, then the tears slid from his eyes as he began to cry. Hannah pulled her son into a hug as he wept and sobbed freely, behind Billy Jamie stood watching and Hannah wondered if she had to comfort two children but she just looked at the ground and then walked away to join Duane at the window.

"He's dead?" Billy asked weeping, Hannah was tearing up herself as she hugged Billy tightly, only now did the realisation hit her that she still cared for Andrew, maybe not as much as before but she still did and his death was indeed saddening.

"They're back!" Duane yelled as Hannah stood up, Billy was still crying and Hannah motioned to Jamie to look after her brother, Jamie nodded and took Jamie back upstairs as Fred came thundering down with the rifle.

"They're back." He said.

"I know. Get the door open." She ordered Duane and he complied as Morgan and Paula ran in, Duane closed it tight behind them and set the locks as Morgan and Paula collapsed panting.

"Where's Cindy?" Fred asked in a panicked state.

"Just… one… second…" Morgan panted but Fred dragged him to his feet and held onto him by the collar.

"Where is she?" he asked in a growling like voice but Morgan shoved him back.

"Relax man! She is with Lori and Shane at the house. We came back because we have a plan." He said angrily.

"Us too, we have an idea about where to hide out." Hannah said and Paula looked at her with a look of admiration.

"Where?" she asked.

"The police station." She revealed.

"Really?" Paula asked with an unsure look on her face.

"Yeah, think about it. Secure, room to sleep, food and weapons. All we need." Hannah said and she saw Morgan and Paula consider it in their eyes but it was still undecided really, both collapsed on the couch lookin exhausted, by the looks of things they ran the whole way here.

"We'll wait until the others get here tomorrow." Morgan said which drew a tut from Fred, Hannah knew he was just pissed that Cindy wasn't with them. He stomped up the stairs as Jamie walked down looking mildly upset.

"How is he?" Hannah asked and Jamie wiped her eyes and spoke in a surprisingly angry voice.

"Still crying his eyes out thanks to you." She said and Hannah spoke in the best 'what-was-that-that-came-out-of-your-mouth?' voice.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" Hannah asked expecting her daughter to recant like she always did but she just looked at Hannah with an icy glare.

"You didn't have to tell him Dad was dead! He was perfectly happy thinking Dad was just at the old house or something!" she shouted, Hannah was shocked. Jamie was never this angry about anything.

"I had to tell him Jamie! You're too young you don't understand…" she said but Jamie shouted over her.

"Stop saying that! I'm 13 and I'm not stupid, you didn't have to tell him! Now he won't stop crying because he knows Dad is dead!"

"Jamie quieten down…" Morgan said but Jamie ignored him, Hannah was so shocked that before she could respond her daughter kept talking.

"I just wish you would stop treating me like a child!" she shouted before walking back towards the stairs.

"Jamie you get back here!" Hannah shouted Jamie turned around and nearly did it before running back up the stairs.

"No! I hate you!" she yelled as she disappeared, the silence was broken the loud slam of a door upstairs as Hannah sat back down and began to cry. It was the first time she had took a moment to break down since this thing had started, it was just too much.

She felt someone hug her on her left as she realised that Paula had moved next to her to hug her. She didn't say anything but just held the crying woman, Hannah felt so terrible for patronising Jamie and making Billy cry, she never wanted to hurt them… ever.

"It's okay." Paula finally said, "Children say these things all the time, they always think they're right but more often or not they aren't."

"Maybe she is right… What if I am treating her to much like a child?" Hannah asked remembering something about this woman being a mother.

"Well then don't treat her like one then. If she wants responsibility then give it to her." Paula said and Hannah smiled, she knew good parenting advice when she heard it and this woman was an untapped source.

"Exactly, Duane here goes on about wanting to be older but he still uses the kiddie's toothpaste." Morgan chipped in.

"Dad!"

The tension that had filled the room was broken as Hannah and Paula laughed at the embarrassed child, although Jamie was right and Billy was still crying Hannah realised something.

Although Bill was still a child and needed looking after Jamie wasn't. She didn't need her mother shielding her from everything.

That's when the idea struck.

_Another thank you to SilverSun09 and my lovely followers, hope you enjoy this chapter because things are gonna get better._


	14. Giving Thanks

Chapter 13.5:

Giving Thanks

I just wanted to take a short break from the story to thank several people who have helped spur me on to write the story.

SilverSun09 – For the constantly positive reviews and the helpful suggestions here and there on how to improve my story. You have been a great help to me and a constant drive to make my writing the best.

islashlove – Even though I don't think you read this particular story you have still helped me with it nonetheless and your wise words have helped me find the energy to keep going.

Laania – Although you only gave one review I still wanted to thank you for taking your time to give your opinion.

ALL OF MY READERS – It may be a scarce couple of dozen or so still reading but I write for the dozen of you. You guys are my personal drive of which I could not write this without.

This was a personal message from me to you guys. Next chapter it's back to the story.

leg64


	15. Scouting Time

Chapter 14:

Scouting Time

The morning sunlight danced across Morgan's face as he raised a weary hand to block it out, he felt dreary and heavy as he forced himself up to look around him. He, Duane and Fred had elected to use the guest bedroom so Hannah, Jamie and Billy could sleep more peacefully but he woke to see Fred had gone, probably on his shift doing watch duty, Morgan had taken it until 10 then woken Hannah for the night shift which she had volunteered.

Duane still slept in the bed opposite Morgan but Morgan decided not to wake him, he looked so peaceful in his sleep and Morgan hated the kid when he was grumpy.

As he opened the door he saw Fred in the study with the rifle looking out the window, he didn't acknowledge Morgan since his back was turned so Morgan carried on, 'best let a worrying man worry away' they used to say.

As he continued down the stairs Morgan noticed quiet talking coming from the living room, as he walked in he found Paula and Jamie sat next to each other.

"Morning." He greeted slightly surprised by the croak in his throat.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Paula asked as Morgan took a seat opposite them, Paula looked as worn as Morgan felt, he could tell under all that stress she was a beautiful woman but the weeks of evading the dead had put years on her face. What was obviously once a casual plaid shirt and white pants had now been dirtied and ruffled.

"Not too bad actually. I think jogging from one house to another really wears a person out. What time is it?" he asked looking for his watch before realising he took it off before going to sleep.

"9:17." Jamie answered, she looked slightly guilty and Morgan knew that she was regretting shouting at her mother. Duane wore it every time he walked into the same room as Morgan after they had argued.

"Damn I slept in… Usually up by 7. Then again Fred was on watch so…" Morgan found he was unable to finish sentences, every muscle in his body was begging him to go back to bed.

"How is he?" Paula asked.

"He's just worried about his wife is all. He'll be fine once she makes it over here." Morgan said, the plan was for them to come to the Drake's since the house was bigger and Paula's group had fewer kids. Shane had argued that Morgan's group should come to them since they had more adults and weapons but Morgan was insistent because of the space and the fact they had that RV which would be handy if they needed to make a quick getaway.

"I hope they make it here okay. I checked this morning for any walkers but this street is still clean." Paula said and Jamie nodded.

"I haven't seen one all week. Kinda wish I could get out of the house." She said quietly.

"Careful what you wish for kiddo, can't count the number of times I wished for something like that only to have it bite me on the butt." Morgan said and Paula chuckled as Jamie bit her lip.

"Mom said she would let me out for a bit today if the group came. If we are going to the police station I want to go out with her." Jamie said and Morgan was slightly taken aback, wasn't this the same Jamie who was scared of walkers?

"When did she say that?" Morgan asked in a curious tone, that didn't sound like Hannah.

"Last night. She said she was sorry she treated me like a child and told me that if she was going on the scout to the station then I could go with her." She said and Morgan looked to Paula for support but saw she was wearing an accepting look. Jamie probably told her before Morgan came down.

"If she is going I wanna go to." A strong voice came from the staircase. Morgan turned so fast he heard his neck _crick _as he saw his son standing at the bottom of the stairs in the same jeans and orange t-shirt he had been wearing for the last 3 days.

"No." Morgan said as Duane walked towards him.

"But Dad…"

"I said no Duane."

"Come on! Jamie's going! If she can go why can't I?" Duane said loudly folding his arms.

"It hasn't been decided whether she is going yet." Morgan countered but Jamie spoke up.

"Mom said I could."

"Well we have to talk about that."

"Why?" Jamie asked loudly as Duane began to speak Paula spoke over all of them.

"Shush! We don't even know if we are going to the station yet so let's wait for the others to get here before we make any hasty decisions." She said calmly diffusing the conversation; both kids gave him angry looks as they both sat back down.

What followed next was surely the most awkward silence of Morgan's life (including the 30 seconds after he proposed to Jenny where she did nothing but stare at the ring with a shocked expression). Paula excused herself during minute 4 saying something about breakfast, the tense silence only finished when Hannah walked down the stairs.

"Good morning!" she said brightly as Morgan turned around.

"Thank God… Morning. Paula's on breakfast so you can come and sit and talk to us. Please?" Morgan nearly begged, Hannah chuckled and sat down next to them.

"Where's Billy?" Jamie asked and Hannah's face went from cheery to a glummer look.

"He's still sleeping. He kept waking up in the night crying so I had to nurse him back to sleep, I had about 3 hours myself." She complained and Morgan saw Jamie look down guiltily as though this was her own fault.

"So I hear you promised Jamie a trip to the police station." Morgan bought up, Hannah looked up and looked at him with an uncertain eye. She sighed and sat back fiddling with her shirt, it was one of Jenny's old shirts, a light purple one that was tight on her but fitting on Hannah, Morgan always remembered it because Jenny would wear it when she was doing housework (something the green paint stains would attest to).

"I said if I went she could come with me, I don't want to keep them cooped up in the house for too long." She reasoned folding her arms.

"Well why don't you take Billy out as well then?" Morgan asked folding his too; Hannah looked at him like he was crazy.

"I am not going to expose him to that kind of danger. At least with Jamie I can trust she will do what she is told, won't you?" she turned to her daughter who nodded vigorously.

"Well if she is going I wanna go to." Duane said firmly looking at Hannah, Hannah did a double take and looked at Morgan.

"It's your call Morgan." She said but Morgan declined the offer.

"Let's just wait for the other group to get here before we make any rash decisions." He said firmly before standing up, he walked through to the kitchen to find Paula emptying the last of the beans into the frying pan over the camping stove.

"When did the kids start growing up so quickly?" Morgan asked exasperated as Paula stirred the beans, she chuckled slightly as she stirred.

"I don't know. Want some advice?" she asked.

"Depends if I like it."

"You might do."

"Then hit me."

Paula smiled as she carried on stirring. She looked up to Morgan and made eye contact.

"You can't protect Duane forever, I know you want to it's only natural but with us needing all the help we can get and people being spread thin I think at least giving him minimal exposure would help out a great deal. Besides he looks like a nice boy and he listens to you. You have no idea how lucky you are with him…" she started choking up on the last few words and Morgan saw the tears fill her eyes as she looked away, she had told him about how she had lost her husband and young daughter and had watched them die. Morgan respected her for carrying on.

"Hey, don't think about that… and you're right. I can't protect Duane forever… Maybe I should take him out later." He wondered as Paula wiped the tears away, she looked at the beans which were nearly cooked.

"Looks like breakfast is served. Mind getting everyone?" she asked and Morgan nodded, as he passed through the living room he saw Hannah reading another magazine as Duane and Jamie sat in silence as Duane fiddled with Billy's ball-and-cup.

"Breakfast is ready." He said as they all looked up, Duane and Jamie smiled as Hannah put down the magazine and walked towards the stairs.

"Gonna get Billy." She explained as she mounted the stairs. Morgan watched as she climbed the stairs thinking about how lucky he was to find these people, not just Hannah and Fred and Jamie but people like Paula who are bringing their friends with them. Morgan always believed in the saying 'In numbers there is safety.'

He smiled to himself as he realised his luck in this unlucky world before turning to join the others for breakfast.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lori climbed into the RV behind Carl and sat next to Shane in the passenger seat, she had been sad to say goodbye to her home, mainly because she and Rick had put so much of their time and money into it. Then again time and money meant nothing now.

She had done what she did just before leaving a house for the last time. She walked around every room and took a moment to remember each one, knowing she would probably never be back there again. She had shed a tear in private before leaving surprising herself… everything seemed to be upsetting lately.

Behind her the usual childish babbled ensued with Carl and Sophia. Lori knew she could silence them by just saying their names but decide to let them carry on. She knew when her boy liked someone and it was pretty obvious, he did the same thing all men did and tried to be mature and often ended up just staring at her. Hard to believe something so cute and innocent could be happening in a world like this.

Cindy and Carol were chatting amongst themselves; everything was surprisingly relaxed in the car at the moment. Lori had the shotgun in her lap and Cindy had her own gun holstered and ready, even Carol had her hand on the machete that Morgan and Paula forgot to take with them. Cindy looked different from when Lori last saw her; she had this aura about her that washed away what used to be a form of elegant classiness.

Carol was still the same, looking over her shoulder every minute to make sure Sophia is still there, Lori knew she just wanted to make sure her daughter was safe but it bugged her slightly, then again she was sure she did the same thing with Carl.

Lori was afraid of having nothing to do, even for the shortest amount of time, these days. Whenever she did images of people she had probably lost reeled in her mind. Her mother was always first, Lori had been on the phone for the first few days trying to get her, or her dad followed closely by Rick… she had even tried to reach her Uncle Nicolas but hadn't made it through either. She could only deduce they were gone but a part of her still hoped even after seeing that Paula's hope in her family's safety was misplaced.

Summoning the last of her waning mental strength she repressed the images and tried to focus on the now. She looked over as Shane with a mixture of admiration and fear, the admiration because he was keeping the group safe, the fear because he was getting angrier and angrier. She had been surprised by Shane and Paula's argument the night before, Paula was usually a nice and polite person but it seems Tom and Freya's fates had unhinged her somewhat, she had become reckless these last few weeks.

"Left here Shane." Lori pointed remembering the way.

"I remember don't worry." Shane said irritably and Lori decided to leave him in charge, even if Shane was an angry person he was a smart one. He knew what he was doing and Lori trusted him. The RV rounded the corner and Lori was delighted that there were no walkers in the Drake's street, they had passed one on their street but it had just lumbered after them uselessly, on the off chance if found their home one of the men would surely deal with it.

"Here we are." Shane said and Lori came back to the present. The RV began to pull up near the Drake's, Lori looked and saw movement by the drapes, she knew they had the right place and people were in there. She turned and spoke to everyone.

"Gather your things we're gonna be quick about this." She said and everyone started scrambling trying to get their things together. She and Carl had chosen better clothes, Shane had taken some of Rick's and Carol and Paula had taken some of Lori's. Paula hadn't wanted to go back to her house and in truth neither did Lori. She could still remember Thanksgiving from the year before, it had been just the Grimes and Paula's family, her Mom had flown in from Boston and Shane had even come. It had been one of the best Thanksgiving's she had ever had even though she and Rick had had a fight earlier.

Lori was first out the door; she jogged with Carl, Sophia and Carol right beside her towards the door. It opened and a tall blonde woman stepped out holding a handgun.

"Inside quick!" She shouted as Lori ran past her, she turned in the doorway as she guided Carl inside as Carol and Sophia followed, Cindy was close behind them as Shane bought up the rear holding the shotgun, as he ran inside Lori stepped back as the woman closed the door behind them and began locking the various locks on the door.

Lori put her bags down and looked around the crowded living room; it seemed that everyone was here. Paula walked over to Lori and hugged her taking her by surprise, a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Lori looked over her shoulder and saw a large variety of people.

First off she noticed the blonde woman again, she was tucking her gun into the rear of her waistband as she said something to what looked a lot like her daughter, a smaller version of her who was maybe a bit older than Carl. Next she saw Morgan and who must be Duane next to him and behind them she saw Fred and Cindy hugging tightly.

Paula broke away and greeted Carol as Lori stood next to Shane, he had dropped his bag full of clothes and food and his shotgun and was eyeing up the group. Lori wished he wouldn't do it but she had decided to just leave him to it and let him bring on his own consequences. In the talk they had had after his and Paula's argument he had expressed regret about it, he was a good guy but just lacks… finesse.

"Excuse me… Do you have a bathroom?" Carol asked Cindy who smiled and gestured up stairs, Carol smiled and made her way up the stairs smiling at Sophia who stood next to Carl somewhat awkwardly.

"Everyone here?" A strong voice rang out as Lori realised that Morgan was talking to everyone in the room.

"We didn't lose nobody." Shane said standing up assuming the typical authority pose.

"Wait…" Sophia said timidly and everyone turned to face her, this immediately made her quieten and turn red. She was a shy girl and rarely spoke around adults… It must be important.

"What is it sweetie?" Lori asked looking to her, Sophia looked back at her and spoke in a rather timid but vocal voice.

"Um… earlier you said there was going to be 13 of us." She said in a quiet voice again, where was she going with this?

"Yes?"

"I've only seen 12 people." She announced, Lori looked around and did a quick head count. She counted 11, then she remembered Carol was upstairs so that made 12.

"She's right. You sure all your people are here?" Shane said turning to Morgan but the blonde woman answered.

"Hey I'm Hannah, um my son is upstairs. He didn't sleep to well so he is still sleeping." The blonde woman said stepping forward, she looked like a strong person, Morgan had given them a quick brief description of the people and the name Hannah came back to her. According to Morgan this woman was strong and smart and was responsible for Morgan and Duane being here now, but apparently Morgan had saved her life or something.

"Oh is he okay?" Lori asked and Hannah shook her head.

"I kinda broke the news his father is dead last night. He'll get over it but until then I just want him to rest." As she said this Carol came back down the stairs, Hannah looked at her and introduced herself as the hubbub resumed.

"Hello Hannah. Might want to let you know that I heard crying coming from one of the rooms." She said and Hannah sighed.

"Dammit." She said covering her head with her hands; Lori knew parental stress when she saw it.

"I'll check him." The daughter said walking past her glumly, her posture hanging loosely. Lori was shocked by this, girls her age aren't usually that responsible.

"Thanks Jamie, come get me if anything is wrong." Hannah said backing away slowly as the young girl trotted up the stairs and out of sight, she turned and Lori saw the unmistakeable look of being overwhelmed splash across her face.

"Gosh she's very mature. How old is she?" Lori asked.

"13, I'm lucky I didn't get some spoiled brat, she cares about Billy so much… I'm thankful to have a daughter like her."

"You should be, she seems like a lovely kid." Lori complimented and Hannah smiled, she was about to reply when Shane poke over her and everyone else.

"I suppose we have a plan then? Cause I don't think this place can hold a dozen or so people." He said and Lori wanted to chastise him, must he always focus on the negatives?

"Well we actually do have a plan. Guessing by that uniform you're gonna like it." She said looking at Shane, he frowned as Fred and Cindy finally parted.

"What are you talking about?" he asked and everyone turned to face Hannah but Fred was the one who answered.

"Hannah seems to think our best shot is the police station." He said in an equally sceptical voice as Shane, boy those two are gonna get along just fine…

"The police station?" Lori asked turning to Hannah who nodded.

"Think about it. Secure, filled with food and weapons and with enough room for all of us." She reasoned and Lori saw her logic, plus Shane knew that place inside out.

"Seems like a good idea, but what if it is overrun? Last time I saw it it was packed with people." Shane asked and Lori half expected Hannah to back down under his look; however she was surprised when she stood her ground.

"Well that's why I propose a scout, a handful of us go up there and check it out, if it is overrun it's overrun and we think of a new place to camp out. If it is empty and not demolished we might just make it there." She proposed, Lori saw Shane consider it along with the others; Lori herself thought it was risky… What if the place was overrun and the walkers follow them back?

"I dunno…" Lori said quietly drawing a few looks but Shane spoke up.

"Okay if that's the plan, we do it quietly, we will need 3 or 4 people…"

"Five, five people." Hannah said over him drawing an angry look.

"Why?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"If you think about it we need to check the whole pace before we let some people in. Then there is the matter of having 1 or two people on lookout to make sure a group of those things don't corner us while we search." She reasoned, she sounded like she had already planned it.

"Fair enough, 5 people it is. 3 for the inside and 2 for the outside. I'll go, I know where the back-up keys are kept… And I want Morgan and you."

"I'm up for it." Morgan said from the back of the room.

"Me too." Hannah said firmly showing the strength that was protecting her family.

"I'm in too." Fred said but Hannah spoke over him immediately.

"No. You've got the rifle and this is your house, I want you and Cindy here in case anything spots you guys. I don't want too many people here unguarded. I want Paula to stay here as well just in case." She said firmly, Lori was counting the people off on her fingers.

"You want me and Carol there?" Lori asked but Hannah shook her heads.

"No, I want some parents to stay behind, plus I heard you can use a gun." She said and Lori nodded cautiously, however she didn't like where this was headed.

"Well that's pretty much everybody." Shane said.

"Not exactly." Hannah said as her daughter walked down the stairs with a young boy in tow, he wore a typical red shirt, blue jeans outfit like any other boy; he looked younger than Carl and had very red eyes.

He must be Billy.

There was a moment of silence as the thought sank in.

"You were serious about that weren't you?" Paula said from next to Lori looking at Hannah dead on, her face replicating Lori's feelings.

"Absolutely." She said.

"You'd endanger your kid's lives like that?" Lori asked outraged, was this woman nuts.

"I'm not endangering their lives. Plus I am only insinuating I take Jamie, I just need someone to watch my back and I don't want too many adults out of the house leaving the kids unprotected." Hannah tried to reason but Lori wasn't seeing the part where this was a good idea.

"So the alternative is to thrust them outside where the walkers are instead?"

"I just don't want my daughter to be cooped up in this house too much, plus she can take orders can't you sweetie?" she turned to her daughter who nodded and spoke in a surprisingly firm voice.

"I'm not a kid okay? I can do this just give me a chance." She reasoned looking at Lori, she didn't know what to make of it but was drawn away by Morgan speaking up.

"Hannah, Duane wants to go too." He said and he saw the blonde smile slightly.

"He's welcome." She said but Morgan didn't look so sure.

"I don't know how I feel about this." He said echoing Lori's concerns, not just one kid now but two? She could see the concerned parent inside of him as the dark-skinned kid behind him spoke up as well.

"If Jamie goes I go, I am older than her anyway." He said proudly but this earned a scoff from the young blonde.

"By 2 months!" she said loudly putting her hands on her hips.

"It still counts!" Duane said folding his arms.

"As if!" she countered.

"Quiet." Morgan and Hannah said at the same time and both kids fell silent, Lori remained unconvinced and judging by the look on her face so did Carol as she clutched Sophia on the shoulder in the usual protective gesture.

Shane was quiet for a few seconds before speaking directly to Hannah.

"So you propose this… Me, you, Morgan, Duane and your daughter…"

"Jamie."

"…Jamie, go inside and scout the place out? I assume the kids will be used for lookout?" he asked and Hannah nodded.

"You got it."

"Mom I don't wanna just sit outside the whole time…" Jamie said but Hannah stared her down.

"Hey you're lucky you're going out at all so appreciate it. When do you wanna go?" she asked Shane who picked up his shotgun from the couch.

"No time like the present." He said simply and Lori stared at him.

"You're gonna leave so soon?" she asked and everyone looked at her.

"We got plenty of sunlight Lori and I don't wanna wait until tomorrow to check it out. If all is well we should be back before nightfall and we can move in tomorrow, if we wait longer we won't have enough sunlight and we will have to do it tomorrow which means probably moving in in 2 days. I don't think we should stay put for that long Lor." He said firmly her; she merely nodded in defeat as Shane spoke to Hannah again.

"Well let's get moving." He said.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It had nearly crushed Hannah to say goodbye to Billy, she had been so protective of him and he was very fragile at the moment but Jamie wanted to go and Hannah wouldn't let her daughter go out by herself with strangers or even Morgan. She sat in the car next to Hannah, they had borrowed Fred's Ford Mondeo to make the journey which didn't seem to please him, he told Hannah to bring her back in one piece. Shane was driving with Morgan in the front seat; Hannah was wedged between the two kids checking the weapons mentally.

They had Shane's shotgun, Hannah pistol and Morgan revolver. Since the kids were on lookout only Shane suggested they climb on top of a tall vehicle (apparently there should be some at the station) and stay out the front, they would have the axe and a hatchet that Fred had produced from the garage. Hannah was nervous about the kids being alone but apparently Duane used to chop wood every weekend, he knows how to use an axe.

"Everybody okay back there?" Shane asked and there was a chorus of agreeable grunts. Hannah was sceptical about this man, over the breakfast of beans Paula had mentioned something about this man not being very open to compromise but he seemed perfectly willing this morning even when the Lori woman wasn't… well Hannah could respect her views she too had children and was worried about sending them out into the open air.

Hannah knew what she was doing, this one shred of responsibility and taste of the real world would at least help Jamie understand the pressure of being an adult. Hopefully.

Jamie shifted beside her as she looked out the window, they were taking all of the backstreets again so they don't run into crowds of walkers and it seemed to be working well, the most they came across at a time seemed to be 2 or 3, Jamie had gasped when Shane had nearly clipped a walker coming around a corner and had clung to her mother's arm before letting go looking slightly pink. Hannah knew she was trying to out-brave Duane after he put her down earlier.

"You ok sweetie?" Hannah asked putting a reassuring arm around her daughters quivering frame.

"I'm fine Mom really…" she said with a nervous smile before looking back out of the stained window; however her viewing was obstructed as the police station came into view.

"Here we are." Shane said as he turned the car round towards the rear of the station, it was still standing and even looked like it was still secure. The car came slowly to a stop and Hannah tightened her grip when she saw something in the rear-view mirror, a slow and sluggish movement that had slipped everyone else's attention.

"Walker." She said tentatively and she felt her daughter stiffen beside her.

"Where?" Shane asked shotgun at the ready.

"Behind us, just came out from those bushes." Hannah said pointing to the mesh of bushes behind the police station; she remembered being told by one of the officers that the station backed onto woodland that connected with the local park.

"I got it." Shane said motioning to Morgan to hand over the axe meant for one of the kids and got out of the car. Hannah kept an arm around Jamie as Shane marched over to the walker and, with minimal fuss, bought the axe down into its head, the walker slumped back as Shane withdrew the axe. He walked back over to the car and banged on the roof.

"Come on out! Hannah, Morgan don't be mad but the kids have gotta come in with us." He said as everyone exited the car, Morgan turned and faced the man as he handed him his shotgun.

"Why?" he asked in an irritated voice as Shane handed the axe back and Hannah handed the hatchet to Jamie.

"Because there is no safe watch point here, walkers can easily climb any of the vehicles here. Best bet we have is if I take them up to the roof where they can overlook from there." He said firmly but Hannah was sceptical, she wasn't sure how she felt about taking Jamie in with them… But Shane was right when he said there was nowhere safe in the car park.

"Fine." She said begrudgingly checking her ammo for the fifth time, just like the last time it was completely full.

"Then it's scouting time." Shane said pumping his shotgun and walking towards the station.

_That was a long one! Sorry if the 'rate of production' has gone down recently but I have a lot of work on at the moment and this story isn't my number one priority. I will continue to update but not a frequently as before, maybe one every week or so, sorry for any unexpected long intervals :-/_


	16. Know Your Gun

_Thanks to my new reviewer 6747 and good news! I hit 500 views which makes me very happy :-) thanks to you all. FYI now I am gunning for the 1000 mark!_

_Enjoy :-)_

Chapter 15:

Know Your Gun

Jamie didn't want to admit it but she was scared. Scared with a capital S, she had been excited to finally go out with her mother and see what the world was like now but was regretting it instantly, the walkers had gotten scarier in a week, they looked grosser and they smelled even _worse_.

"You okay honey?" her Mom asked as Shane cocked his shotgun and Morgan checked his revolver, Jamie was gripping the hatchet she was just given in her hands tightly as she answered trying to sound confident.

"Yes Mom." It sounded like a scared puppy.

"Don't worry honey, just stay close okay?" she said reassuringly and she felt that familiar warm feeling in her chest, the feeling of safety whilst her mother was there. Behind her Mom she saw Morgan and Duane walk behind Shane towards the rear entrance, a single door on the side of the building.

"Okay now everybody ready? Kids stay in the middle between your parents and stay sharp." He ordered before kicking the door hard, it flew open as he headed in shotgun-first, behind him her Mom ran in with her pistol up, Jamie stuck close as she entered gripping the hatchet tightly, the station was clean, nothing looked dishevelled or out of place and it even looked nice… Sparkly almost.

"What the hell?..." Shane muttered as Morgan closed the door behind them.

"Looks like someone's been keeping the place clean." Her Mom joked as she moved down towards what must be some kind of common room, it was well positioned with all the furniture clean, Jamie could even hear the faint hum of the minibar running.

"Why is that working? Didn't the electricity go out 2 days ago?" Duane asked, the lights had all snapped off in the Drake's house, they had been operating by candlelight and camping lights since then.

"The station has its own generators in the event of power loss, seems like someone has them running." Shane said looking confused, she still was aiming the shotgun as he kicked open a door and walked through briskly. Jamie saw something strike him and a shadow collided with him, Jamie screamed as Morgan darted forward and her Mom moved in front of her, through the doorway Morgan was hit by someone else and a fight erupted.

"Stay here!" her Mom shouted to her and Duane who was gripping his axe as hard as Jamie was gripping her hatchet. She ran forward and held her gun aloft and shouted in that dangerous voice that she usually reserved for when Jamie was in deep shit.

"Everybody freeze!" she all but screamed pointing the guns at the mess of figures, the all froze as they both stood up, both were cops, one was around Mom's age with red hair and a thin moustache whereas the other was an older looking black man with a full moustache, both stood up with their hands raised as another figure emerged from behind the door with their gun drawn.

"Drop the gun darling'." The woman said, she was also in uniform and was a bit larger than the men but looked fierce with the gun, however the officer with red hair put a hand on her shoulder as Shane and Morgan scrambled to their feet.

"Drop it Rosie, it's Shane." He said still looking at her Mom, Jamie saw the gun slowly lower as Shane dusted himself off and turned to the man.

"Christ man you couldn't just offer a hand-shake?" Shane joked stepping towards the older officer and shaking his hand before pulling him into a hug, the officer called Rosie holstered her weapon looking from person to person.

"You know them?" Morgan asked holding onto is gun, the red haired man broke eye contact with her Mom and turned to Shane who extended his hand.

"Yeah, saw them nearly every day. Guys this is Officer Lambert Kendal, best weapons expert in the force."

"Pleasure to meet you." He said with a charming smile shaking Morgan's hand.

"… and next here we have Officer Rosie Andersmith." Shane gestured to the woman who smiled warmly, the hard and threatening demeanour vanishing, the smile demanded an automatic smile in return which Jamie's face did all by itself.

"… and finally we have..."

"Leon Bassett." Mom chipped in, there was still an odd tone in her voice, Leon Bassett was back to looking at her Mom with a stern look on his face.

"You know each other?" Shane asked looking between one and the other.

"We dated a year or so ago, nothin' serious." He explained, Jamie cringed inside slightly… of all the things she doesn't want to know about her mother her dating life was pretty high up there.

"Oooh…" Duane uttered the noise managing to turn the head of every adult in the room including Jamie. Judging by the look on his face Jamie guessed he was aiming for something quieter.

"Sorry." He said quickly.

"You gonna introduce us?" Rosie asked with a cheerful pip in her voice, no sign of the she-hulk with a gun from 1 minute before.

"Of course. This is Morgan and his son Duane and Hannah and her daughter Jamie." Shane explained in a quick voice, Jamie waved on mention of her name.

"Anybody else with you?" Lambert asked as all weapons were holstered.

"We have around 13 people with us. Lori made it and Carl." Shane explained.

"Rick's wife?" Lambert asked looking surprised.

"Yeah."

"What about Rick?" he asked and Jamie saw the same dark shadow cross over Shane's face, his voice came out deeper and more firm.

"He's dead."

"Damn…" Lambert said and Jamie saw Leon and Rosie exchange a look, they must have been Rick's friends.

"Anybody else here?" Morgan asked but Rosie shook her head.

"Nope. Just us three, everybody else either skipped town or was eaten, took us a week just to make the place habitable." She explained in a blunt fashion.

"Well then you think there's enough room for us and our friends?" Shane asked, the cops all exchanged glances as Lambert spoke up.

"What's your count?" he asked in a serious tone.

"13, 8 adults and 5 children and we have supplies of our own as well." Shane explained, the cops all looked at each other and they all nodded.

"Best get them moved in soon as we can. You far away?" Rosie asked.

"Only 20 minutes, we can go back and fetch them now." Morgan said but Rosie shook her head.

"No sense you all going back, how about only you two?" she said gesturing to Shane and Morgan, Morgan looked at Duane momentarily.

"No offence but I don't wanna leave Duane alone." He said firmly.

"Don't worry we're cops, we know how to keep people safe. Plus you will have Hannah here to keep an eye on us." Leon said with a weird smile at her Mom, Jamie saw her Mom return it.

"He won't have to worry I'll go with Shane, you can stay here my friend." Lambert said walking over to Shane, they fist bumped which admittedly looked a little lame.

"We won't be too long, maybe an hour or two just so we can get our things together." Shane said confidently to Leon.

"No problem, just don't tail the shifters." Leon joked as they began to walk out the door.

"Shifters? You mean walkers?" Morgan asked with a confused look.

"Call 'em what you want just don't 'em to us. Also Leon I need you on watch okay?" Lambert said.

"No probs boss." He said before taking off into the building as Shane walked out the door with Lambert.

"Stay safe guys." Mom said, they both turned and spoke in unison.

"We will." They both said walking out the door; Rosie closed and locked it behind them as Jamie heard the sound of the car pulling away.

There was a few moment of silence as everyone caught up to the situation.

"Well then," Rosie said, her cheerful voice returning, "Better give you guys the Station Tour."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sophia liked Billy, he didn't say a lot as they sat in the bedroom but he seemed nice enough for a young boy. He was only 8 or 9 (by the looks of him) but he wasn't completely nuts like Sophia's cousins of the same age.

"How long do you think they're gonna be?" Carl asked looking out the window, he'd been there for the last 20 minutes looking out the window, he claimed it was in case of walkers but Sophia knew that was bullcrap since they had Paula looking out, she knew it was because he was worried about Shane.

Her Mom and Carl's had taken it upon themselves to clean everything that the Drake's hadn't. The Drake's had seemed nice, well Cindy did anyway, Fred had seemed like more like one of the teachers at her old school.

"I don't know, you shouldn't worry so much about Shane he can take care of himself." She said calmly, she had noticed that for all the cool person Carl tries to be he can get seriously stressed.

"I'm not scared. I just want to know when they'll be back." He said, Sophia rolled her eyes to herself, typical Carl trying to act all brave, she didn't mind it but she knew most of the time it was a lie.

"I wish my Mom didn't go." Billy said from beside her, he spoke in a timid voice. Sophia put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"She'll be fine, and your sister to." She said softly to the small child, he looked at her with teary eyes and lay down on the bed, the bedroom was cluttered with three camping beds stuffed inside the small room.

"I hope we go to the police station, I don't like it here." Carl said randomly stepping away from the window, he looked very tired and Sophia knew the feeling. The electricity had gone out 2 days ago at Carl's house and the toilet situation was the same, they had had to use a camping toilet they had in the spare bedroom which was _very _uncomfortable.

"I know it's so… small." Sophia said quietly.

"The station is much bigger, I used to go there all the time with Dad…" his voice faded slightly on the last few words and Sophia felt the twist in her stomach, Carl had remembered once more that his dad was dead… Then she thought about her Dad… He was scary and mean but she had cried all night when she heard he had died, even a week later and the thought was bringing fresh tears to her eyes.

"Oh… I'm so sorry." Carl said rushing over to her and hugging her, she returned it as she fought the tears, she really had to stop crying to much…

"My dad's dead too." Billy said from the bed and Carl and Sophia look at him, he looks distant and sad.

"Really? I'm sorry…" Sophia said not knowing what to say, she was still holding onto Carl's arms around her as she placed one hand on Billy's and squeezed gently, he responded with tears in his eyes as a silence ensued, no-one broke it for at least a minute… A knowing moment of sombre realisation passing between each child as a small but saddening truth passed between them.

All their Dads were dead.

The silence was broken by the faint sound of an engine, Carl let go of Sophia as he ran to the window, she was close behind him and shuffling behind her told her Billy was there as well, they looked out the window to see Fred's car pulling into the drive.

"They're back!" Carl shouted running out the door, Billy followed quickly but Sophia stood still as she watched the people getting out of the car. Only Shane and another man she didn't recognise in uniform got out.

Billy's mom and sister weren't there.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Paula saw the car before the kids started shouting about it, judging by the noise they made outside the door they had decided to jump their way down the stairs. Paula looked closely to see Shane getting out of the car and another guy in a cop's uniform, Hannah, Jamie, Morgan and Duane weren't there.

Paula's heart was pounding as she jogged down the stairs, she saw the front door open and the two men jog in as the front door began to close. Cindy locked all the locks as Lori and Carol emerged from the kitchen.

"Where are Mom and Jamie?" Billy asked in a fearful voice, one that sent quivers through Paula's heart a she hoped they weren't gonna bear bad news.

"Don't worry bud; they're at the police station waiting for us." Shane said ruffling the kid's hair, Billy smiled with some relief as he sat down on the couch, the other cop looked older than Shane, maybe in his 50's? He was dark skinned and oddly enough looked like a slightly older version of Morgan.

"Hi, I'm Paula." She greeted the man with a handshake which he firmly responded with a kind smile.

"Name's Lambert, but you can call me Lam." He said with a smile, the guy looked like a nice fellow.

"You boys okay?" Lori asked moving passed Paula to Shane, she goes to touch him but Paula sees her noticeably recoil, if subtlety was her objective then she was failing. Badly.

"We're good. Good news everybody, looks like we have somewhere to go." Shane said with a smile, judging by the smile on Lam's face he wasn't thrilled by the agreement. However any distaste was lost in the collective sigh of relief.

"It's spacious enough?" Carol asked and Lam nodded.

"You bet it is, we have enough night shift beds for 10 people, the rest with have to bunk in the cells but we can make them comfy. You'd be surprised about how warm it is in there as well." He explained cheerfully, Paula smiled at the thought, this could be their big break.

"So when are we going?" She asked.

"No time like the present." Shane said.

"Might as well, we haven't unpacked any things whatsoever." Lori said.

"Okay everybody get your things together. Lori, I am gonna take you, Lam, Carol and the kids in the RV. Fred can take Cindy and Paula in his car." Shane said, Fred nodded catching the car keys Shane just threw across the room.

"Gotcha. Cindy I'll get the bags, you wanna get the weapons from downstairs?" he ordered, Cindy nodded and moved away.

"What weapons?" Lori asked in a concerned voice.

"We went through our things and found some more blunt objects that can be used as weapons... crowbars, hammers, those kind of things." Fred said, for all the ass this guy seemed to be at least he was resourceful.

"Good, Carl go grab our things from the guest bedroom with Sophia." Lori said firmly, the kids nodded and moved up the stairs.

"I'll help them, come on Billy." Carol said gesturing to the young boys; he followed her up the stairs eagerly. Paula grabbed the small bag she had packed earlier and swung it over her shoulder as Lam stood nearby watching the commotion. Paula grabbed the RV keys and threw them to Shane as he looked out the window.

"Still no walkers, we gotta be quick guys come on!" he yelled over all the movement in the house.

Paula smirked as she leaned in towards Lam and spoke quietly.

"That guy needs to relax." She remarked, Lam chuckled himself and spoke in the same comical tone.

"He's had people telling him that since he started this job." Paula laughed at the comment as she picked up the machete that had been resting comfortably on the couch, she was beginning to like it. Everyone was settling into having their own weapons in a way.

For Paula it had automatically become the machete, since she had used it on the walker attacking Fred and held for the trip and back she had gotten used to it, she had even become disappointed when she had forgot it when going to the Drake's.

Shane had his shotgun obviously, Morgan had his revolver, Hannah had her handgun, Lori held on to Shane's spare but loathed to use it, Carol always held onto a kitchen knife from Lori's even though she never used it, Fred had his rifle, Cindy had another small revolver and even Morgan's kid had their axe close by just in case.

Just as she was thinking this Lori walked over holding a box she produced from a bag.

"Paula I need you to carry this, you're the only one without a gun who can use one." She said handing over the box, she opened it to find a large silver revolver inside practically floating on a bed of bullets.

"What's this?" she asked confused, it looked _really _valuable.

"It's Rick's old Python, I found it just before we left the house and kinda forgot about it. I was gonna give it to Shane but he already has enough guns, besides I've seen you shoot a gun before and you can aim…" she quietened when she realised where she had seen Paula shoot, Paula's inside shrivelled when she realised it was when she shot Tom but, to Paula's disgust, it had been a good shot.

"You sure I can handle it?" Paula asked and Lori shook her head.

"Don't know until you try. But until then hang on to it, I just don't want people unprotected you know?" she sounded genuinely concerned, Paula thanked her before eyeing the gun, Lam stood beside her and spoke in an amazed tone.

"A Colt Python, that's a truly amazing piece of weaponry, I remember Rick would never leave for a job without it." Lam said in a reminiscent tone.

"You know guns well?" Paula asked, Lam smiled.

"Practically my childhood, Pa was a police officer too and he used to show me all sorts of weapons. I can name virtually any weapon you present me with, it's important to know your gun." He challenged, he sounded very cocky.

"Challenge accepted… Um… What about that rifle? The one on Fred's shoulder." She said pointed to Fred who was holding onto two suitcases for him and Cindy. Lam squinted slightly before speaking confidently.

"Easy, that's a Remington 700 BDL. We have one of them at the station."

"Hmm… What about this one?" Paula said gesturing to the gun in Lori's belt, she withdrew it and Lam answered immediately.

"Glock 17, standard issue. Why don't you give me a challenge?" he mocked, Paula stalled when she realised that those were the only guns, then she saw Cindy emerge from the basement and remembered her revolver, it looked fairly small and compact.

"Hey Cindy, where did you get your gun?" she asked the woman, she withdrew her gun and looked at the small device.

"Um… Found it at the shopping centre, some poor guys with his leg chewed off." She said grimly, it looked very different from the ones she had ever seen.

"Okay then Lam, what about this?" the man looked at it and frowned, Paula's heart skipped a beat when she thought he didn't know but dropped when he smiled.

"That is a Colt Detective Special, you don't see many of them with the common classes." He remarked cleanly.

"Dammit." Paula said, this guy did know his guns.

"Guys come on, we gonna move or sit around making conversation?" Shane scolded marching over to the stairs to help the kids carry the suitcases.

"Killjoy." Paula seethed as she walked over to help as well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah liked the station, although the people there were a different matter. Although Rosie seemed nice Lam had had come off as a little patronising and Leon was trying to be a smooth prick. It wasn't working but Hannah just played along, one thing she remembered about Leon was that he could be a right sour-puss.

"So you've been here since the beginning?" Hannah asked as Rosie showed them around, Morgan and Duane were in the bathroom right now as Rosie introduced Hannah and Jamie to the women locker room.

"Not really, we were here to start with but it became overrun, people came here when the hospital was full you see? Well I left earlier because there were emergency calls at the old folks home, by the time I got there it was lost so I came back here only to find Lam, Leon and another officer called Doug here. They had killed everything with their guns and had begun boarding it up." She explained in a wistful voice.

"Wait, who's Doug?" Hannah asked, Rosie sighed and turned to her.

"He was some rookie that got transferred here several months ago, not that smart… Kinda dumb actually. Anyway he had survived but didn't tell the guys he was bitten, turned just after I got in. Such a shame to see someone turn." She said in a sad tone, Hannah didn't know if she wanted Jamie hearing this but it was the unfortunate truth.

"Damn… So how are you guys on the weapon front?" Hannah asked and Rosie smiled surprising Hannah slightly.

"Oh that's the good part. We got enough guns to fight a small army, they're mostly in the lock-up but we got rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers… Hell we even got one or two grenades in there." She said and Hannah couldn't help smiling either.

"Sounds great. I only have this clip left but it's full." She said showing her gun.

"You know how to shoot that?" she asked and Hannah shook her head.

"Not really, I've shot a few walkers but I haven't really got the knack of a clean shot yet." She remarked.

"Well you're in luck, we gotta plenty of ammo and a shooting range, you and your group can practise there whenever you want."

"You sure that's a good idea? Won't it draw walkers?" Hannah questioned but Rosie chuckled.

"Not likely, the room's soundproofed." She explained, Hannah liked the idea of finally being able to shoot a gun properly.

"Wow that sounds amazing. Might give that a try later, you sure you and your friends are okay with us staying?" Hannah asked, she had recognised the less than thrilled looks that Lambert, Leon and Rosie had been exchanging. Rosie looked at Hannah then at Jamie and sighed.

"Personally I don't mind. This station has held more people it's just I know what we're all thinking."

"What's that?"

"I don't know how I feel about being responsible for what I make out to be 13 more people." She said with a grim voice.

"You won't be responsible though, we can take care of ourselves."

"I know I know… I just don't know if I can watch more people die that's the problem." She confessed, Hannah could strongly relate to the feeling.

"We're not asking you to. We are asking you to help stop that from happening." Hannah said looking the woman in the eye, the woman had very dark eyes, the shade of brown almost blending into the black pupil, she had a full face and curvy figure and looked like one of the jolliest people around, but right now she radiated stress.

"We'd very much appreciate it." Morgan voice said behind Hannah, she turned to see him standing there with Duane, both of whom were looking on seriously.

"I'm telling you now that you won't get kicked out. It's just… 13 people is a hell of a lot of responsibility, plus we don't exactly have a lot of food to go around." she began walking again and Hannah kept in line with her, she could hear the others behind her.

"Then we will find some more, we've done it before and now we got more people." Hannah said as they came got the reception desk, the surface was shiny but didn't reflect any light since the large glass windows were all covered.

"Well we got enough for a few days depending on the people you're bringing." She said, suddenly the walkie on her hips crackled into life.

"_Rosie?_" Leon's voice echoed from the other side, Leon has been a shock, when he and Hannah were going out he had managed to fall over a twig and yet here we was surviving the apocalypse where running was a supreme skill.

"Yeah Leon?" she asked in a worried voice.

"_We got cars coming, a sedan and some big-ass RV._"

"That's them." Jamie said and Rosie nodded.

"That's them Leon, guide them round back and keep an eye out for shifters, they might be following the noise."

"_Roger that._" He said back as Rosie moved in front of them towards the rear, Hannah followed close behind as they ran for the back door. Once they got to the back door Rosie unholstered her gun and opened the door checking the area, Hannah had her weapon ready as well as she held out her arm to keep Jamie back, the coast was clear as the RV and the Mondeo rounded the corner.

They came to a stop as the RV door flung open, Lambert was first with his handgun as Lori came out with the two kids and Billy and Carol, Fred climbed out the Mondeo with Cindy and Paula both armed with guns. Finally Shane emerged from the RV as Lambert made it to the door, Hannah and Morgan moved back as everyone started to pile in with their bags, Billy immediately hugged Hannah who squeezed him back with equal vigour.

"Hey baby boy." She said as he squeezed harder, she didn't even realise the door swing shut and Rosie locking the door and speak into her walkie.

"Leon, we got any followers?" she asked, there was a moment of silence before he responded.

"_None that I see, I'll keep a look out._" He said.

"Roger that." She replied as everyone stood around looking at each other, no one was missing. As everyone moved into the reception area they all took seats nearby in the seating area, Hannah sat with her children on either side of her, Lori sat with Carl, Carol sat with Sophia, Paula sat in between them across from Hannah who was next to Fred, Cindy, Morgan and Duane.

Lambert, Shane and Rosie all stood out front, Lambert stepped forward and spoke clearly.

"Welcome, everybody, to the Police Station."


	17. Night the 1st

_Random Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of it's by-products but I do own my one OC Rosie (take her if you want her :-P)_

Chapter 16:

Night the 1st

"Fuck me…"

"Fred, watch your language." Lori scolded knowing all too well the kids were nearby, she could completely understand why he swore though, before them lay enough weapons to arm a small army. There were rifles, shotguns, pistols, revolvers and she even spotted a box of grenades on the top shelf.

"That's a lot of guns…" Hannah mused from behind Shane, he turned and grinned cockily as he walked in and examined one of the finer rifles.

"We still got the ammo?" he asked to older cop who answered happily.

"Yeah, we never opened the cache to the general public even after the attacks began." Lam said, the man seemed just calm as Lori remembered from when she last met him, the Lori had met Rick's co-workers several times when she visited him at work.

"Good, this should keep us for a long time." Hannah said, the 4 of them stood in relative awe as Lam smiled, Lori turned to him, she needed questions answered.

"What's the deal with the watch then?" she asked calmly.

"Before when it was the three of us we would do an hour each to stop ourselves from going crazy, however most of the time when we had nothing to do we just all took watch at the same time." Lam said.

"Well we better draw up a schedule, we have over a dozen out our disposal now for chores, might as well utilise them." Shane pitched.

"I don't know how I feel about my kid seeing the kinds of things out there." Lori said but was was met with an irritable Hannah.

"What's your plan then Lori? Lock your kid in a black box and shield him from the world?" she asked, Lori was slightly offended but understood her concern.

"That's a little extreme, I just don't want him traumatised."

"Well he is gonna be exposed soon, would you rather it be from a safe distance or when he meets one up close?" Hannah asked, Lori thought about the scenario, Carl caught off-guard and not knowing what to do, she refused to complete the scenario in her mind.

"Fine, but I want to accompany him on his shifts." Lori said firmly, Hannah smiled as Shane locked the cache door and handed Lam the key.

"We'll distribute weapons tomorrow… think Paula and Carol have finished dinner yet?" Shane asked moving back through to what used to be the Staff Common Room but was now more of a common area. Leon and Rosie were on watch, the kids and Cindy were playing Gin Rummy (a personal favourite card game of Lori's) and Morgan and Cindy were busy prepping their respective sleeping areas.

It had been simple, there had been three rooms of five beds available. Lori, Carol, Paula, Hannah and Rosie had taken room one, Shane, Leon, Lam and Morgan had taken room two and the kids had taken the final room, there had been debate about whether that was a smart idea but they came to the realisation that the kids would get sick of each other very quickly, Fred and Cindy would be sleeping on the sofa which was incidentally a futon.

"Hey Carol, how's dinner looking?" Lori asked walking over, they had crammed some diced tomatoes and rigatoni into their bags from the Drake's and tonight Carol was cooking her special Pasta a la Carol (admittedly then name name lacked creativity).

"Nearly done, give it 15 minutes I'd say." She said smiling, Lori had to admire this woman, her husband's death had unhinged her slightly but she was coping much better lately.

"Great, haven't had pasta in ages." Lori said trying to ignore her stomachs pleas.

_Just wait… _she told it.

To her left she saw Hannah's daughter Jamie excuse herself and walk further into the station, she wasn't sure how Jamie was coping but Hannah had assured her she was doing just fine, Lori was sceptical however and decided to keep an eye on her.

"Hey Lori can you give me a hand with something?" Shane asked from the hallway.

"Sure." She said following him, she took down the hallway near where the cache was but took a left turn so they were in the generator room.

"What do you need a hand with?" she asked Shane when he stopped moving, he turned and walked over to the door shutting it.

"I need to talk with you." He said in a dark tone.

Lori's body stiffened, she had been avoiding Shane since she had first felt those feelings towards him. Those feelings of dependency, reliance… maybe something more.

We don't have anything to talk about." Lori said firmly try to walk past him but he caught her arm.

"We sure as hell do, you can't deny something is happening between us Lor…"

"Shane, there ain't anything happening between us." Lori said avoiding eye contact at all possible costs.

"Shoot, you know that's a lie…"

"Even if it is Shane that doesn't change anything. I am my husband's wife."

"Lori he's gone, when are you gonna accept that?"

"I've accepted it Shane, it took me a while but I have accepted it and I am not going to just forget about him like _that_." Lori clicked her fingers on the final word, she began to tear up and the last few words had become slightly choked.

"Lori, you can't just close yourself off."

"Shane stop…"

"You keep pulling away I can't help you…"

Stop… Please…"

"You gotta face the truth Lori!"

"Stop!" she all but shouted, she broke down and collapsed into his arms, he hugged her tightly as she began to break down. The waves hit her, those strong and powerful waves of sadness and fear she had been repressing the last few weeks, that tidal wave of crippling despair that encased her in that moment.

It may have been 5 or 10 minutes whilst she was held in his arms before she could speak again.

"Thanks Shane… I needed to hear that…" she muttered wiping her eyes, they still were locked in an embrace she found hard to break.

"Anything for you Lor…" he whispered back, they made eye contact and Lori felt him drawing in, she tried to pull away but her mind paralysed her as his lips connected with hers.

For a few seconds there was no movement between them, Lori kissed back as the hugged tighter, in those moments she felt whole again, she felt stable, able to think, able to feel more than a barely stable clump of emotions.

However the moment was broken when she realised what she was doing, her mind exploded into actions as mental images of Rick and Carl forced their way inside of her head. She drew back sharply and twisted out of Shane's arms, there were a few moments as Lori stared at him horrified at what she had done, without another word she pushed past him and opened the door before running into another room. It was an office of some kind where she locked the door and broke down again.

What had she done?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jamie muffled her cries using her sleeve, it barely did the job but it did it nonetheless. She had been crying for 5 minutes now, at first it had been a small sniffle, then a rogue tear… then before she knew it she was choking back wails she couldn't contain anymore. She didn't even know what she was crying about anymore, just that she needed to before she exploded, she felt the bubble begin when she was playing Gin Rummy with the other kids, she had left just in case and now she couldn't stop.

She was nearly blind with tears, her face was wet and her loose hair that hung over her head had become wet as well, she was a mess and as soon as she left the room people would see… more importantly her Mom would see and she would fawn over her, she didn't want her Mom to worry, she already had Billy to deal with… She certainly didn't need some weak and needy little blubbering girl.

She was curled up in the bathroom connected to her room; she shared it with Duane, Carl, Sophia and Billy. They were kinda looking forward to a sleepover kind of thing but Jamie knew she wouldn't like sleeping with boys. The bathroom was okay but it was more made for several people to use at once which she would _not _do, however it was closed off from everywhere else and at the moment that is all she wanted.

She heard the door to the bedroom open and close and quickly tried to compose herself, she couldn't stop herself crying immediately but she rolled up the soaked sleeve and brushed the matted hair out of her face and wiped her eyes as the door opened.

The other girl Sophia walked in, she jumped slightly at the sight of Jamie, obviously not expecting to see her there.

"Oh, hi." She said cheerfully as she walked past Jamie and into one of the stalls, she didn't get a good look at Jamie which was good because she was still a mess, as Sophia was using the toilet she tried to dry her eyes and hair and make herself look composed but it didn't work, she still looked profusely upset.

Sophia flushed and left the stall, she washed her hands and looked at Jamie for the first time, Jamie kept the sobs in but found them surfacing as she caught Sophia staring.

"Are you okay?" she asked in a light voice, she seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm… fine." Jamie pushed out, honestly if she was aiming for subtle she was _really _blowing it.

"Are you crying?" she asked as another few tears came from Jamie's eyes, she wiped at them quickly but they were soon replaced, she tried to speak but she could only feebly nod as she resumed the crouched position on the floor. Her body was racked with sobs as she felt the girl sit down beside her, she was a year younger than Jamie from what she remembered but was twice as sweet.

"Don't cry, everything will be fine." She comforted as Jamie continued to sob.

"I… know… it's just… just… I don't know…" was all she could manage, Sophia just held onto her, the weight of the fragile girl comforting as she continued to cry, she was so ashamed, here she was breaking down in front of this girl she hadn't even known for a day, she must look like such a baby.

"Don't worry… I cry all the time." She admitted, Jamie looked up slightly surprised.

"Why?" she asked in a very stuffy voice as she wiped her face again.

"Sometimes I don't know. Like how sometimes I think about my old friends… Sometimes it just happens and I can't help but cry." She said sadly wiping a few strands of Jamie's hair which was now plastered to her wet face.

"What do you do?" Jamie asked recovering slightly using the other sleeve to wipe away the excess fluids.

"Usually I just let it out, lately Carl has always helped me…" she said blushing slightly, Jamie now realised that she liked Carl.

"Do you like him?" she asked very bluntly, Sophia giggled and turned a brighter shade of red.

"No!"

"Oh my God you _so _do!"

"I do not!"

"You do, you're blushing _so _brightly." Jamie taunted as Sophia hid her face in her hands, the moment of absolute childishness returning her to her former state of happiness.

"Okay… maybe I do but _don't _tell him!" she pleaded, Jamie just giggled and sang in a sing-song voice.

"Carl and Sophia sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N…" she began but broke down laughing at Sophia face.

"Jamie!" she pleaded further and Jamie stopped the laughing as she looked at her new friend in the face.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"Pinkie swear?" Sophia said extending said pinkie.

"Swear." She said linking her pinkie with hers, the shook as they both stood up, Jamie caught site of herself in the mirror, she looked much better than she did a minute or so before.

"Thanks." She said smiling at Sophia.

"No problem." Sophia returned the smile as she walked out the door, Jamie smiled as she followed her new friend to what was now the smell of an amazing pasta sauce.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Something was definitely up with the atmosphere at the table, Paula couldn't put her finger on it but something was wrong for sure. Everybody minus Shane (who volunteered for watch duty) was sitting in the cafeteria around on the merged tables, the kids sat on the neighbouring table chatting much like kids did.

First of all Lori wasn't talking to anyone, even when she did it was 'yes' or 'no' or 'I don't know', Shane had taken his food and left as soon as he had returned from out back with Lori. Paula didn't need sharp detective skills to know that something had happened between those two.

Secondly something was _definitely _going on between Leon and Hannah, they kept throwing each other flirty remarks and even though it had only been a day they were getting along _very _well.

Also something was up with Jamie, she had been in the bathroom for 10 minutes and when she came out with Sophia, although she was laughing, she had the unmistakable appearance of someone who had just been laughing.

The pasta however was amazing, although she only had rudimentary ingredients Carol knew how to make pasta, Paula had offered to help but this woman was in a league of her own. Super Housewife.

"Wow… This is amazing…" Cindy all but moaned from the other end of the table, her compliment was met with a chorus of agreeable noises.

"Absolutely." Morgan said.

"Couldn't have made it better myself." Rosie said with a half full mouth.

"A toast to Carol for an amazing dish and our new hosts, we thank you for your hospitality!" Morgan said raising the cup of blackcurrant cordial in the air.

"Cheers!" everybody said as one, even the kids. This was the first night since the beginning where everybody felt safe, they laughed, they joked, the kids played before going to bed and everybody talked amongst themselves. Lori went to bed fairly quickly and was followed by Cindy. Rosie called it quits next along with and Carol. By the end of the evening Morgan and Lam agreed to tag out with Shane who went to bed immediately leaving Paula, Hannah, Leon and Fred.

They sat on the sofa drinking a bottle of wine Leon had stolen from the Sheriff's liquor cabinet (_"He won't be needing this anymore!"_), they had moved onto the topic of what to do next.

"Well our food, water and ammo are good for what could be another two weeks with this amount of people. But I know we've wanted to go scouting for a while now." Leon said as they were all on their final glass.

"Why didn't you?" asked Fred.

"Well we would need to send two and we didn't fancy leaving the station lightly guarded. It would only be a matter of time before someone was smart enough to realise the station was a good place to hang out."

"And realise it she did." Paula commented tipping her glass to Hannah who smiled and gave a curt nod.

"Anyways with this many people scouting shouldn't be an issue, obviously we would like a fair few people behind who are trained in weapons."

"Seems fair, when were you thinking of going." Hannah asked.

"Why not tomorrow? We may be good for things like food and water but clothing seems to be an issue not to mention things to do." Leon said grimly, Paula nodded.

"5 kids and no video games, that's gonna be a handful." She commented causing the others to laugh.

"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack, pray to God I don't wake up Cindy or she'll punch me through a wall." He remarked as he sleuthed back towards where he and Cindy were sleeping.

"So how do you two know each other?" Paula asked Leon and Hannah, they both looked at each other and laughed slightly.

"We dated not long ago." Hannah answered.

"Really?" Paula asked slightly shell-shocked.

"Yeah." Leon said with a chuckle, Hannah seemed pretty amused too.

"What happened?"

"Well…" Leon began looking at Hannah before continuing, "We met at the restaurant down on Main Street… What was it?"

"Angelo's" Hannah inserted.

"Angelo's, anyway we had met there at a dinner function the month previously so we thought it would be something nice to do." Leon said, neither was laughing anymore but small smiles remained.

"I was invited by my friend Marylyn to go, anyway not important, what was important was Leon's ex-girlfriend." Hannah reminisced as Leon groaned.

"Oh my God… Elise…"

"Yep, she came storming into the restaurant telling Leon that she had his baby. She was turning over table she was so angry, naturally I was angry at both of them and I left." Hannah said looking to Leon who continued the story.

"Well turns out she didn't have my baby, she was from 2 months ago and when she was still skinny going into month three I figured she had nothing, just a jealous ol' sack of crazy. Got a restraining order filed against her straight away." He said with a chuckle, Paula chuckled herself as Hannah took over.

"Anyway he called again and we went to dinner the following week."

"Not Angelo's." Leon inserted.

"Not Angelo's, some place up-town, Italian. We got along great and it was fun and everything but I found between work and my kids I couldn't keep up with a relationship."

Leon nodded.

"And my work was demanding to, between the both of us being unavailable we just decided to wait a bit first. Never got round to calling you back." He commented turning to Hannah.

"Neither." She said, there were several moments of silence as Paula felt her role as a third wheel increasing by the second.

"Such a shame, anyway I am gonna hit the sack to. I am looking forward to a long lie in." she smirked as she began walking back to her room, she waved goodnight as the two lovebirds returned to wave, she staggered slightly as she walked, her brain protesting at the focus it took, she found her room with the other women and opened the door carefully, she crept in and found her bed on the far side of the room.

The tolls of the day had caught up with her as she flung herself on the bed, the soft covers wrapped her up as she began to fall asleep, she didn't even have time to remove her clothes before she was sound asleep.


	18. Station Meeting

Chapter 17:

Station Meeting

The next few days Paula really enjoyed the security of the station.

Well they didn't exactly go out for a day or two, the feeling of safety was too tempting and the new arrivals couldn't resist enjoying relaxation for a few days even if it involved household chores. Everyone had also been assigned a weapon which they were going to practice with that day after the meeting, even Jamie and Duane were going to practice.

The station was a great place, comfortable to live in, safe from the walkers and with good supplies. The boiler and water supply meant that they could afford to take a shower every two days (men one day, woman the other and then a free days to balance water levels).

The weapons people had brought in stayed with the owners (Hannah's pistol, Morgan's revolver) but since there were spares at least all the adults had one. The cops (Shane, Lam, Leon and Rosie) were all trained so they all took possession of a shotgun each and a standard issue Glock, Fred and Morgan had been promised practice with rifles, Lori, Hannah, Paula and Cindy were going to be practicing with their pistols (Paula deciding that Rick's Python was a bit too powerful for her). Carol didn't want to start shooting things and refused the offered gun, however after a talk with the group she agreed to at least practice aiming.

Of course the kids got in on it, they didn't keep their weapons but Duane and Jamie were also promised practice with Glock's as well, Carl had wanted a go but Lori was very against it (reluctant herself to shoot again) but after urging from Shane and Hannah she caved and said he could practice. Sophia didn't want to practice (Carol didn't want her to anyway) and Billy was way too young to handle a gun.

But first they had a Station Meeting. This was their first one where everyone was present, even the children.

It was sat in what used to be a room used for staff meeting and the like before the dead started walking. They all sat around the big table as Shane and Lam spoke, they had become the unspoken leaders of the group since Shane was the leader of Lori's group before and Lam outranked Shane, Leon and Rosie in being the senior officer.

"Ok let's get straight down to business; we've done a stock check on food, water and toiletries. Water is good but we've been burning through food and toiletries faster than predicted." Shane broke the news.

"How badly?" Carol asked.

"Badly, I'm afraid we haven't been rationing very well. If we continue at this rate we will be out of food and toiletries in 3 or 4 days and out of water in two weeks." Lam said drawing a gasp from several of the group; Paula knew this meant one thing. Supply run.

"Supply run?" Paula asked and Shane nodded.

"You got it. Me and Lam have talked and we agree a team of 5 would be perfect, they should take one of the stations armoured vans just in case. Volunteers." He said looking around the room, Leon's hand was in the air before anyone could breathe.

"I'm in." he said instantly.

"Good. Anyone else?"

"Count me in." Fred said drawing a saddened look from Cindy.

"I'm right with you." Morgan said as well.

"I'll go as well, can't let the men have all the fun." Paula remarked and Shane nodded his head but not as confidently as with the others.

"You sure you're up for it Paula?" he asked and Paula felt a ripple of annoyance, did he not think she could do anything?

"Sure I can, not the first time I've done it." She said confidently staring him down, he conceded defeat and added her name to the whiteboard under the list Supply Run.

"Fine, I'll tag along to make 5. We'll hit that new Costco that opened near the K-Mart." Shane said but Lori spoke up.

"Could you hit that as well? Some of our clothes aren't holding as well as we had hoped."

"True, I can't keep borrowing Cindy's clothes forever." Hannah remarked drawing a chuckle from the woman.

"No problem, we'll go tomorrow early morning, I want to get Fred and Paula trained with their weapons before we hit a big store." Shane said drawing nods from around the table. Shane moved to sit and Lam took main point.

"Right now target practice, we'll do it in two teams in the range, it's soundproofed so the walkers won't hear but I want two people on watch in case that doesn't work."

"I'll do it." Rosie said.

"Me too." Leon said but Lam shook his head.

"I need officers in the range to teach." He said but Rosie spoke up again.

"How about you and Leon take one class and me and Shane take the others?" she said, Lam pondered it and slowly nodded.

"Good idea, now I want Team 1 to be those with basic weapons training already or who are using stronger weapons like rifles." Lam said looking around the room doing a quick count before heading back to the whiteboard and creating two lists for Team 1 and Team 2.

"By the looks of things then this is how the Teams will be set out." He said and drew names on the board. By the end Team 1 consisted of Shane, Rosie, Fred, Morgan, Hannah and Paula, Team Two was Lam, Leon, Lori, Carol, Cindy, Duane, Jamie and Carl.

"Looks good. Team 1 will go when we finish then Team 2 can go after lunch." Shane said standing back up as Lam sat.

"Anything else?" Lori asked and Shane nodded.

"Yeah, we've designed a new watch roster to help stability. We drew up a basic one. We change on the third hour and there are always two on watch." He said avoiding Lori's gaze, Paula knew something did happen and she was picturing the worst thing already.

"What is it?" Carol asked as Shane Blu-Tacked the new roster to the board and read it off.

"Okay here it is. We devised groups essentially then blocked 5 groups to a day with one group getting a respite, the kids don't go on every watch but can be called on as replacements in their group. The groups are Shane/Fred, Leon/Lam, Lori/Carol/Carl/Sophia, Morgan/Hannah/Billy, Rosie/Jamie/Duane and Cindy/Paula." He read out, Paula was happy about being partnered with Cindy, she was a nice person and could be easily engaged in conversation albeit when not around Fred. Hannah raised her hand however.

"Why isn't Jamie with me?" she asked, Jamie looked nervous and slightly embarrassed at her mother's question.

"And why isn't Duane with me?" Morgan asked invoking a similar reaction from Duane.

"Because the numbers wouldn't match if we attached each kid to their parent. Besides they are both mature enough and Rosie will be there anyway." Shane said and Rosie nodded.

"Anything goes wrong and I will send them back inside, don't you worry." She reassured, Hannah was accepting of this and sat back but Morgan looked more worried.

"You okay with that Duane? It's perfectly fine if you don't want to…" he said to his kid but Duane nodded his head.

"I'm okay with it Daddy." He said and Morgan said back with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Then it's settled, me and Leon will do our shift now. We've left outside unwatched for too long as it is. Shane, you and Rosie take the first team to the shooting range for their practice." Lam said as he and Leon moved, with that the meeting was adjourned, everybody stood and filed out. Paula stuck close to Fred and Paula as they followed Shane to the shooting range, Fred peeled off to retrieve his rifle but Hannah already had her pistol on her.

"In here." Shane said opening another door, inside was a very grim looking shooting range, there was 7 rows and in each one there were targets at different ranges. Rosie walked in behind them carrying a box of pistols and several rifles that were the stations, Shane closed the door behind him once Morgan stepped in behind Rosie and turned to face the group.

"Okay everybody choose your weapons." He said and Paula approached the box with the others. Fred picked up some ammo from the box and checked his rifle and smiled before picking a row, Morgan picked up a rifle similar to Fred's along with ammo and chose a row next to him. Hannah drew her pistol but picked up a revolver as well with some bullets before taking the row next to Fred. Paula picked up a heavy feeling pistol, she enjoyed the weight of it and the hard texture, she picked the row next to Hannah and waited for the lesson to begin.

Paula found it easy, she hit the head clean on her 3rd attempt and got it many times after that. She followed Rosie's instructions to breathe first and let go of all emotions, she found that last part slightly difficult… Every time she fired she remembered the recoil from shooting Tom which (disturbingly) stung less each time.

Hannah meanwhile wasn't so clean; she clipped the head a few times but really only managed body shots. Despite Shane's instructions she couldn't master even the less powerful revolver; however he said she had enough skill to put up a decent fight if she needed to. Fred was a natural with the rifle hitting the target dead on each time and Morgan said he liked the feel of the rifle. The class was considered a success by Shane who said they all could shoot very well and that he considered them some of the best.

Paula had smiled at that comment, she kept the heavy Glock for herself as she walked out of the range and despite everything that had happened lately she felt better about herself. For the first time since this thing had started she felt like she could defend herself well.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carl pulled the trigger and the revolver jumped in his hand, he was ready for it though, this was his third shot and this time it hit somewhere in the neck region. He smiled and looked back at his Mom who gave him a strained thumbs up, he knew she didn't like it but Shane had wanted him to do it, it was a shame he wasn't here to see Carl shoot.

On his left Jamie fired a shot, it hit the target in the chest region, the old cop Lam whispered in her ear and readjusted her gun before she fired again. Carl didn't know much about Jamie but Sophia had told him that she was a nice person, he didn't care that much but she seemed nice to him all the same.

"Okay Carl tag out." Leon said to him, Carl saw the cop grin at him as Sophia stepped out from behind Carol.

"Is your Mom shooting?" he asked but she shook her head.

"No, I am." She said shyly, Carl clicked on the safety and handed it to her, Carol looked at her daughter worryingly as Leon informed Sophia about parts of the gun.

"Didn't she say she didn't want to?" Carl asked Carol, he looked at his Mom but she was being told by Lam how to aim properly as she had just switched with Cindy.

"She did… But when she saw the other kids doing it she wanted a go…" Carol said delicately, Carl could see the disapproval in her eyes and hear it in her voice.

"Don't worry. Sophia's a good kid, she'll be fine." Carl said, Carol looked at him and smiled.

"I know." She said ruffling Carl's hair; the moment was interrupted by a bang then a squeal. Carl turned and saw a smoking gun in Sophia hands and the small girl breathing fast, Leon looked hard at the target and Carl did to, he saw a bullet hole dead centre of the targets head.

"Wow! Sophia got a headshot on her _very _first go. Would you look at that?!" Leon all but shouted, everyone stopped firing as the shocked girl looked at the target and laughed.

"Whoa…" Carl expressed next to her, who would have thought little Sophia would be such a good shot?

"Um… Good shot honey…" Carol said awkwardly, one hand on her daughters shoulder. Everybody was in the range except for Shane and Fred who were on watch duty so when the applause came it was generous. Sophia turned and smiled at Carl and spoke in a dazed voice.

"Can't believe I got it in the head…"

"Well you're a good shot." He said as the crowd dispersed, everybody was otherwise occupied and Leon was whispering to Lam. Sophia spoke to Carl in a much more hushed voice now.

"Carl, I don't want to shoot the gun again." She said in a scared voice, Carl looked at her confused.

"Why? You're so good!"

"Because I don't want to shoot anybody… it's scary." She said, she looked behind Carl to see Carol walking towards them with Lori at her side.

"Everything okay honey?" she asked but her daughter shook her head.

"I don't want to shoot anything anymore, can I go?" she asked and Carol nodded.

"It's okay sweetie, let's go." She said taking the gun and handing it to Leon, after a few hushed words Leon nodded as the pair walked outside, Billy said something Carl couldn't hear over the resumed banging and she nodded allowing Billy to follow them.

"You okay?" Carl's Mom asked and he nodded his head, suddenly he wasn't in the mood for shooting anymore.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Billy had asked his mother if he could go back to his room away from all the gunfire, he didn't like the loud noises and his head hurt. He tried to find the nice lady Carol or her daughter Sophia but he couldn't find her after they left.

He stopped dead in his tracks after the third turn as he realised he was lost in the station; he couldn't see Carol or Sophia.

Where was his room again? He remembered it was near a drinking fountain but he couldn't see one, he opened a set of double doors and walked through but the hall looked the same as the last one.

He began to feel a bubble of fear as he realised he was fully lost. He didn't know this hall… Where the hell was it? He saw a door at the end of the corridor and remembered it as being vaguely familiar…

He ran to it and pushed it, he found it hard to open. It swung open with a rusty squeak as he remembered why it was familiar; it was the door to outside where they came in.

"Damn." He cursed as he looked around, he could slightly remember the trip to the reception office from where he was now but he didn't quite know…

There was a sudden rustling outside and a shape ran quickly near the RV, it kinda looked like a dog… It was too small to be anything else.

"Max?" Billy called out; he hadn't seen Max since the bad people had come to King County. His Dad had told him Max was outside, maybe he saw Billy and followed him here, Billy walked into the parking lot towards the RV looking for the shape, he looked around and saw no 'walkers' around so he ran to the other side of the large vehicle.

"Max?" he asked aloud again but again nothing answered, he heard a rustle coming from behind a large tree that stood in front of some woodland. He ran around it expecting to see his dog but something caught on his food and he fell over, he skinned his knee and it stung with pain.

"Ow!" he cried out as he fell, he heard the rustling again and got up quickly looking for his dog, a shape emerged from behind a tree and Billy stood still.

It was a person but he was wrong, he smelled bad and looked dirty… Just like the other bad people.

A walker.

He turned and ran, trying to get away from the growls and roars behind him. However another one was cutting him off from the RV, he looked around him and saw what could be 10 coming out from the woods.

Billy screamed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah felt weird letting her son walk around the station by himself, but he was 9 and not completely stupid. He could make it around without a chaperone.

Jamie was still shooting nearby, Hannah had stayed to support her daughter but it looked like she didn't need any support, she looked comfortable enough firing the small gun.

"Weird isn't it?" Lori said sitting down next to Hannah.

"How so?" she asked she thin woman, she was looking over at her own son who was being guided through reloading by Lam.

"Seeing our kid shooting guns, one minute they're playing a Nintendo DS and the next their shooting paper targets…" she said in a somewhat sad and concerned voice.

"I know. Then again it's been more than a minute since this whole thing began." Hannah commented and Lori sighed.

"I know, I know… I just don't want my baby in danger and I don't see how a gun can solve that." She vented, Hannah turned to the woman and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Trust me; I feel the same way about my kids. You gotta realise it isn't just about the guns or the knives, it's that they know what to do if they are in danger or they know how to survive." Lori turned to her and smiled slightly.

"God forbid they ever has to use those skills of course, didn't think I'd have to face the reality of Carl growing up for at least another 5 years." She said with a wry laugh, Hannah chuckled as well as she saw Jamie remove her goggles and hand the gun to Leon, she walked back over to her mother.

"That was fun." She said with a half grin.

"It isn't supposed to be fun, it is supposed to be a lesson…" Hannah scolded before adding, "Doesn't stop it from being fun though does it." She said causing her daughter to giggle, Hannah and Lori joined in the laughter as well. Hannah saw Leon walk past and give her a cheeky grin, he had been trying it on for the last few days and Hannah could say she didn't mind that much, when she had first met him after the apocalypse she had only seen the more negative elements of his personality but in the last few days she couldn't help but bond with him…

"So what's going on with you and Leon?" Jamie asked, Hannah turned to her daughter with what felt like a look of incredulity on her face.

"Um, nothing. And besides that isn't your business young lady." She said poking her daughter with the last few words, they both giggled and a mini poking war commenced.

To her right Hannah heard radio static from Leon who was pressing the walkie talkie to his ear, he waved a hand and shouted loudly.

"CEASE FIRE!" he yelled and the room fell silent, he raised the radio to his ear as Hannah listened closely.

"_You gotta get out here now, someone screamed outside, sounded young. Where are the kids?" _the voice of Shane was frantic on the other side, Leon looked around as did Lori, Carl was removing his goggles, Jamie was next to Hannah and Sophia was with Carol… Billy…

"Oh my God, Billy!" Hannah shouted as she ran to Leon, ignoring his protests she grabbed to walkie and pressed the button.

"Billy's missing. Where is he?!_" _she screamed and Shane was back on the walkie in seconds.

"_We heard the scream coming from the woods area, Rosie is heading down now…" _He hadn't finished speaking before Hannah was sprinting towards the back door, she turned in the corridors and ran as fast as her legs could carry as she heard footsteps behind her, she didn't know who was following and she didn't care. She had to reach her child.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Special thanks to my readers hope you enjoyed this chapter and the others._

_Bad news, from late December to late January production will go down severely due time constraints._

_And please review, I want to know what you think so far and what you wanna see _


	19. Desperation

Chapter 18:

Desperation

Paula flew through the corridors after Hannah as the blonde pushed door after door open trying to find Billy, the others had scattered throughout the station trying to find him, Leon ran parallel to Hannah checking the other side, after the third corridor Hannah let out a scream of anguish.

"Where is he?! Billy?!" she screamed with a wild look in her eye, Paula looked around and saw the open door to outside.

"Hannah he's gotta be outside! Let's go!" Paula said gripping her gun tightly, Hannah pushed ahead in front of Leon as Paula brought up the rear. They burst outside to see two walkers lumbering towards the station, Hannah yelled out as Leon ran forward scooping up a metal pole from the ground as he went.

The first walker lunged but missed as Leon moved around it, he plunged the pole into the walker's face multiple times, the frail looking woman who used to be human buckled as a taller and stockier walker advanced on Leon.

"Leon!" Paula screamed but he turned and repeated the move on the other walker who was forced to the ground dead. Hannah wasted no time as she ran past Leon still screaming.

"Billy?! BILLY?!" she went to scream again but Leon covered her mouth.

"Shush, you'll draw walkers!" He seethed but she writhed from under him and continued into the woods with Leon hot on her tail. Paula turned and saw Shane on the rooftop, she signalled to him to wait there as she followed them.

Another two walkers appeared; Hannah was caught off guard and dodged one (a fat, balding one) as Leon drove the pole through its head, the second walker approached him from behind but Paula hit its head with the butt of her gun, it fell to the ground as she continued to pound away until nothing was left but a smashed pile of brain matter.

"Billy?!" Hannah shouted out in a more desperate voice, it was replied with a loud bang and then a scream, this scream sounded older though.

Oh God, Rosie…

"Rosie?!" Leon called out running alongside Hannah, Paula got up and followed them gun in hand, through the trees she could make out shapes, in a dip in the terrain there was a large rock, leaning against it was the writhing form of Rosie, a walker was on top of her as she screamed her head off.

The walkers hand was in her stomach.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I can't find him!" Jamie screamed as she ran from room to room, everyone was looking for her baby brother and everyone was coming up empty handed. She knew he wasn't stupid, he wouldn't go outside unless he had too, tears drenched her face as she ran around pushing past people, eventually she ran into a strong pair of arms she recognised as Morgan's.

"Honey it's okay, we're gonna find him." He tried to calm her, however the effect was broken by a loud bang somewhere in the distance.

Outside the station.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Leon swung the pole and sent the walker flying; he smashed into its face multiple times as Paula ran to Rosie, the woman fell down shocked as Paula and Hannah tried to catch her, her face was pale and blood was dribbling from her mouth, Leon continued to smash the walkers face as Rosie moaned in pain.

"Oh my God…" Paula moaned as she ripped off her over shirt and dressed it over Rosie wound, she pressed it together but she screamed out in pain. Leon rushed over and tried to speak but stumbled over his words.

"Rosie… don't…" was all he could manage, she turned to him and spoke in a gurgling voice.

"The kid… more…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Morgan saw Jamie panicking more and more as he ran around the station after her, everyone was continuing to search but no one could find him, Jamie was weeping as she ran, in the bedroom Sophia and Carl were checking under the beds and in the bathroom and Shane was checking around but they couldn't find him.

"Billy!" Jamie screamed as she came to a stop, Hannah, Paula and Leon were outside with Rosie trying to find him. It had only been minutes he couldn't have gone far. The gunshot hadn't helped Jamie, the bang had set her off screaming.

"I'm going outside to find him." She said running for the back door, she still had the gun in her hand from practice and Morgan knew she meant business, he grabbed her shoulder and steadied her.

"No, you can't. Don't worry they'll be back soon." However as soon as he said this he heard something in the distance, something more terrifying at this moment than all the walker moans in the world combined.

Another gunshot.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah turned when she heard that gunshot, it had come from where they had just left, her and Paula had left Fred with a dying Rosie after Rosie had begged them to find Billy.

She must have turned.

Hannah could feel her heart in her throat and tears crawl down her face, her baby boy was missing and there were walkers in the woods.

"Billy?!" she screamed again running forward, a small female walker lumbered from behind a tree but Paula stepped in front of her and swung the metal pole Leon had used into the woman face, it embedded itself clean inside and the woman keeled over once more.

"BILLY?!" she screamed, this time her voice broke and so did she, she slumped against a tree and felt it all overcome her, she felt momentarily paralysed as she fought to regain control, before she knew it hands were on her shoulder and Paula was talking to her.

"Hannah, come on we have to keep looking…"

"Oh God, what if they got him, what if they got my BABY?!" she wailed but Paula shook her and spoke in a stronger voice.

"No! Walkers got my baby and I'll be damned if they get yours! Now come on! We are going to-!" she all but yelled, however before she could finish a child's scream ripped through the air, Hannah froze recognising the voice.

"BILLY?!" she screamed sprinting towards the source of the noise, everything about her was adrenaline and dread, she could see it happening but she didn't want to. She wasn't thinking, just acting.

As she rounded a larger tree she saw a clearing and her heart stopped dead, Billy was surrounded by at least 6 walkers who were all gunning for him, he was trapped up against a cluster of trees as Hannah screamed out.

"BILLY! RUN!" Hannah sprinted forwards gun aloft, behind her she heard gunshots and she knew Paula was firing, one walker fell and another was pushed back by the bullets striking her chest.

One lost interest in Billy and lunged for Hannah but she raised the gun and pressed it into his scalp and fired, the brains coating her leg as she pushed him away. Billy had tripped and was crawling away, the second walkers head exploded as Paula fired and Hannah fired wildly at the walker, bullets hit two and one fell as the other stumbled back, the third however lunged at her son.

He caught fast and enveloped the boy as Hannah was pushed into a tree by another walker as she screamed her son's name over and over again.

"BILLY!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The gunshots were stressing out Shane, he couldn't see anyone emerging from the woods but he heard plenty of noise.

He felt the pangs in is stomach as he realised this was his and Rosie's fault, they should have been watching the back as well. They should have been making sure nothing was out there, they should have seen the little boy wander out.

Hell they should have even locked the friggin' door just in case.

This was his fault.

Suddenly Shane's walkie came to life as he clicked it off of its holder.

"_Shane?_" Fred's voice asked from the other side, it sounded dull.

"Yes?"

"_We got a problem._" He said bluntly.

"What?"

"_They got Rosie_."

Shane's heart fell with that last line, he felt a wave of crushing defeat and pain enveloped him as his inner voice rebounded inside his head.

His fault.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Paula struck another walker in the head with the instrument and it fell as she fired at point blank range with the gun. Another walker fell as Hannah continued to scream her head off, a walker pressed her against a tree as one grabbed Billy.

"BILLY!" Hannah screamed as Paula ran forward, she tried to sprint but her worn legs betrayed her and she fell, she raised her gun to take the shot but as Billy and the walker reared up there was a bang and another walker fell in her field of vision, Hannah threw the body back and she shot it in the head, the rushed over to Billy but she was too late.

The walker bit hard into the little boy's neck as his screams pierced the quiet forest. Hannah screamed as well kicking the walker away and firing into its face wildly, it fell back as Hannah crouched over Billy. Paula stood in dumb shock as she witnessed the sight before her, he was going to die.

Another bang brought her back to the real world, a last walker body slumped beside her dead, she turned to see Leon holding his gun and staring at Hannah and Billy with wide eyes.

"No… No…" he moaned covering his mouth, Paula felt tears caress her face as she looked around, the walkers were all dead and Hannah continued to wail, Billy was coughing up large amounts of blood as he cried, Hannah was covered in his blood as she wept, Leon paced and put his hands on his head in dire emotion, Paula began to cry as she walked over to Hannah.

"Baby… Baby no… I'm so sorry… NO!" she screamed as Billy began to convulse, the scene was racking Paula's body as she knelt beside Hannah and hugged her with one arm whilst covering her own mouth with the other. The mother was clutching onto her child as his eyes looked up to his mother, they were filled with fear and tears, Paula wanted to comfort him but she knew it would be of no use. With a jolt he began to convluse, the loss of blood was cauing a seizure.

"Baby, no, no, no, no, please no! Stop! No! No!..." she screamed as Billy shook, Hannah tried holding his head but he shook violently as his eyes rolled back in his head and the lids came down.

"NO!"

He was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jamie was _really _stressed now. They had heard a load of gunshots and there was still no word from Mom, Leon or Paula, Jamie was pacing as she cried, she didn't bother to hide it since everyone had saw it as she was running around the rooms.

She was waiting by the door with Sophia, Carl, Lori and Carol. Officer Lam was on the outside waiting for the others to come back as everyone continued looking just in case.

"Jamie please, sit down." Sophia said but Jamie ignored her, she didn't mean to be mean but she couldn't stop pacing.

Lori began to speak, "Jamie I think it would _really _help if…" however she didn't finish since there was a groan from the door.

The door opened and Lam stepped back in, his face was sad as Leon came in behind him covered in blood, both looked worn and without Billy, both didn't meet Jamie's eyes as she searched theirs for answers. Her heart stopped as she saw who followed.

Her Mom was being held up by Paula, she was coated in red and was looking down, her face was blank but she had been crying. Jamie looked from her mother to Paula who looked her in the eyes, her own filled with tears.

"No… No..." was all Jamie could muster, she moaned as she walked towards her mother but she didn't respond to her, Jamie looked around at everyone to see everyone else had come back, everyone knew what it meant.

"NO!" Jamie screamed as she fell back, her legs giving way underneath her, her chest began to hurt as she wailed, she didn't know what to do, everything was hazy, it was wrong, the world was wrong. Billy couldn't die, he shouldn't die, he was her baby brother.

She felt someone hug her as she covered her face, it felt like Sophia as someone else small hugged her, she couldn't respond at all and continued crying, her head felt full and bloated, she throat felt restricted and she couldn't breathe, she felt like she was going to explode with every constricted breath.

The world was fuzzing as the feelings of people hugging her felt miles away, the world began to vibrate as she slumped in her friend's arms, the world growing black around her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_This was my most depressing chapter yet, honestly it killed me to write this but I thought it was time for something big to happen._

_Don't track me down and kill me._

_leg64_


	20. Gut Punch

_Sorry about any bad writing or grammar but I wrote this chapter whilst I was VERY sick so I didn_'_t edit it as well as I could have done. Also because of my new illness (which makes eating and drinking a bitch) I may not update this story very often. Maybe one or two more entries before my own small break over New Years._

Chapter 19:

Gut Punch

Shane downed another shot of the Cap's whiskey as he, Leon, Lori and Lam sat in silence. It was late; Hannah and Jamie were being looked after by Paula and Carol as Lori finally gave up on Carl.

Shane had whispered to Lori that Carl and Sophia probably wanted to talk, they were kids and this was a big thing, something talking with parents could only do so much for. They wanted time to take it in as friends, not as children.

Morgan was still chatting to Duane, the man was a good father and Duane had been very upset, not like Jamie but still very upset, Morgan had told Lori and Shane that it brought back the topic of his mother who Hannah had killed once she turned. Shane hadn't seen Morgan since then.

Shane had felt that guilt tear into him as he told them Rosie was dead and was informed that Billy was too, he had been busying himself since then to help silence it. He had even gone on the horrifying body pick-up with Lam and Leon, only they had seen the horrors of a murdered child in their line of work.

The shooting was the worst, it was Shane's idea which didn't help but it needed to be done, he was going to turn eventually and Shane knew nobody would be able to shoot him then.

One quick round in the head and that problem was solved, he carried him back as they said goodbye to Rosie, Leon had put her down earlier once she began to twitch and they couldn't afford to bury her body.

The little boy's had been buried near the RV in the ground near where the woods begin, tomorrow there would be a simple service. Simple and quick so as not to draw attention.

Shane poured himself another shot as he thought about the boy again, Leon stood up without a word and walked away, Lam looked at Shane and Lori then followed him out, Shane knew that Lam was going to talk to him about what went wrong, fingers would get pointed, names would get thrown around.

Shane would be a common topic.

"It's not your fault." Lori said suddenly breaking the hour's silence.

"What?"

"It's not your fault, you gotta stop blaming yourself for what happened to Billy and Rosie…"

"I'm not saying it is my fault…"

"Shane, that's bullshit," Lori said in a frustrated tone as Shane pounded another shot, "I can see it in your eyes, you blame yourself for what happened to that little boy when it has nothing to do with you…"

"You don't get it Lori! I was on watch! I had the chance to stop him from going outside so please tell me Lor, if you can, that it is not my fault!" Shane said angrily, the whiskey was like fire in his veins, taking control of him and making him angrier, however this woman didn't back down.

"It is not your fault! We all did wrong! We all let him wonder the station by himself, we didn't barricade that door properly and hell we didn't even make sure he knew where the hell he was going! That is on us Shane, so stop making this all about you!" she seethed as she walked away, Shane felt his insides frothing with anger, he picked up the almost empty whiskey bottle and threw it across the common room, it smashed against the opposite wall as he kicked out at a chair, it landed on the floor with a clatter whilst the man breathed hard.

Who was she to yell that at him? He did so much for her and she just threw it in his face…

He slumped back in his seat wondering when things became so fucked up… It used to be him and Rick, Shane and Lori would talk about Rick and whenever Rick was busy and Shane was free he'd be a good uncle to Carl. He loved Lori like a sister and nothing more, now with Rick gone they had done nothing but grow closer, he loathed the notion of them being together as much as she did… But at the same time he couldn't help but follow it… Experience it… Be the man who could protect her and Carl.

Be the man Rick should've been.

Shane let out a long and exasperated sigh as he examined the mess around him, as he began to clean he reflected on his last thought…

The man Rick _should've _been.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Poor Jamie.

It had been a long night, Carl was slightly embarrassed that he cried once he found out Billy and Rosie were both dead but he was so sad, just like when Freya had died it made him think about how long he had left. He and Sophia both insisted that they spend the night in their room and not with their mothers, mainly because they had been waiting to talk about it, not like chit chat but serious talking, Duane was still talking to his Dad in the next room.

"I feel bad for her." Carl said, Sophia was still teary but they sat close together.

"Me too, how long do you think she'll cry for?" Sophia asked, Carl considered it for a moment.

"I don't know. I hope it isn't too long…" he said, Billy and Jamie had been close with each other and their Mom. Hannah herself hadn't said anything for the rest of the day; it had been a half-hearted meal of beans and fries which nobody really ate much of.

"Same. Do you think it was quick?" she asked, Carl was slightly taken aback by this question half seeing it as a joke. But Sophia was being serious.

"Um… Maybe. Remember Aunt Paula just said he was bit… Maybe he turned?" he said, as soon as he said it he knew it was the wrong thing to say when her saw tears spring into her eyes.

"You mean he was a walker?" she asked in a choked up voice, Carl moved closer and took her right hand with his left, any other time this move would have sent butterflies into his stomach and made him nervous but now wasn't the time. Sophia squeezed back as she fought back tears.

"I don't want to die Carl, I don't want Mom to die, I don't want you to die… I don't want anybody to die." She said in one of the most scared voices he had heard her use, she leaned on his shoulder as she cried quietly, he rested his head on top of hers as tears started in his own eyes. The happiness he had been feeling the last few days had vanished, the hope that there may be others was gone and all he could feel was that welling feeling of sadness.

It was like a massive punch to the gut.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Morgan lay on his bed in the adult's bedroom thinking hard, he had layed down an hour ago but he had not closed his eyes once.

He was used to kids being curious, he had been a middle school councillor in-between jobs thanks to his degree and he had dealt with everything kids had to say from '_Why are teachers so mean_?' to '_It's been a year since Mom died and I can't stop thinking about it_.'

But talking to Duane had been different, the kids at the school had meant a lot to him but Duane was his son, his questions were harder to answer and harder to think about.

_Why do all these bad things happen?_

_Why did Mom have to die?_

_Is God real?_

Morgan had been shaken by that last one, Morgan had never been too much of a believer but Jenny had raised Duane to believe in God, Duane had been more devout than Morgan had been and even reminded Morgan to say grace when Jenny wasn't home. To see his faith shaken like that… It was unsettling.

Morgan rolled over as the bed groaned, he winced half hoping that Lam or Leon didn't wake but they didn't. Shane hadn't returned yet and by his recollection it was Cindy and Paula on watch tonight… But Paula was with Hannah and Cindy was spending time with Fred, the poor woman had cried her eyes out over the news of Billy and Rosie.

Shane took it the hardest, sure Hannah was none responsive and Jamie had cried herself to the point of fatigue and exhaustion but there was something in Shane's eyes, the glimmer of something Morgan knew all too well, the same thing he saw in the mirror those few days after Jenny's passing.

Guilt.

Morgan knew he should sleep, chances were that even with the death of Billy and Rosie there would still be a supply run but he couldn't help it and he knew that maybe half the others might still be awake.

Leon and Lam slept near him but could easily be faking it like Morgan was, Shane was still elsewhere, Paula might be on watch duty but maybe Shane took over… Who knew?

Several others were definitely asleep. Morgan had chatted to Carol before going to sleep and apparently when both mothers checked in on their children both Carl and Sophia were asleep on the one bed, exhausted with grief probably. Jamie still hadn't woken up, Hannah had started talking (barely) and had gone to sleep and some of the others had secluded themselves in the station.

Honestly… Everyone was a mess.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The service was simple, Billy had been buried already so it was quick.

Shane and Fred stayed on watch, neither was really close to Billy or Rosie so they elected to keep an eye on the station. Everyone who knew how to shoot was armed and everyone was alert, no-one really spoke. A few minutes of fearful silence, tears from some, sobs from others.

Those few minutes were torture for everyone…

But it was nothing compared to what ended the funeral.

_Paula had one hand ready to draw her weapon, last time they were outside for this long the walkers had come and started to attack them. She didn't want to take that chance this time…_

_The silence had been going for a minute now, no-one had really started it but everyone had joined in. Paula stood by herself, around her she saw people huddling. Hannah stood at the foot of the grave, Carol and Cindy by her side consoling her, Morgan was on her other side with a hand on her shoulder as she wept. Jamie was in front of her, the same dull and emotionless expression on her face as she had been wearing since awakening._

_Next to Morgan was Duane, he was staring at the grave with a morose look on his face._

_Lori was next to both Carl and Sophia, however she was pre-occupied with looking around her. Paula knew the woman wanted to go back inside soon with the children… After what had happened recently Paula couldn't say she blamed her. Behind his mother Carl and standing close to Sophia, Paula saw the nervous touch of the hands between the two, they had become close since this thing had started… A serene touch of innocence to the awful situation._

_On the opposite side of the grave from Paula, Lam stood to honour his friend and colleague Rosie. Leon stood next to him facing outward with one of the station shotguns. Paula could feel the atmosphere tensing up and knew they would be going inside soon, they couldn't say out here to long… Every gentle breeze carried a shiver up the spine, every rustle of leaves had people breathing faster and every flutter of a passing bird had people clutching their gun handles._

_A soft clear of the throat caught her attention alongside everyone else's, Hannah stepped in front of her daughter, her eyes never leaving her son's burial site as she spoke in a stuffy voice._

"_They say the greatest pain a mother can witness is outliving a child. Some agree and some don't… But I can say that it is hell… I wanted him to be safe so badly… So badly I would sacrifice everything for him… My little boy… I would tip over mountains or battle armies for his sweet little eyes… But instead he was killed… My naivety and stupidity killed my baby boy and I'll never forgive myself for it…" she said clearly with tears rolling down her cheeks, beside her her daughter made no indication towards emotion, she stared further at Billy's resting place. Paula felt a tear roll down her face as she felt the pain as well… She knew too well how losing a child was the worst pain you could live through. _

_Hannah turned slowly to face Lori and Carol who now stood together; she then turned to look at Duane, Carl and Sophia._

"_Lori… Carol… Morgan… Don't you let your kids out of your sight. You protect them… Don't let them run away for one second… You keep an eye on them and you keep them safe… I don't want this to happen… ever… again…" the last few words came out as choked sobs as the woman broke down once more, she fell to her knees as she was caught by Lori and Cindy. As she was pulled to her feet she looked Paula dead in the eyes and spoke in a wail._

"_Paula… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry you had to feel this… I'm sorry…" she wailed before being supported further by Lori and Cindy. It was time, everybody moved as a pack back towards the station with Lam and Leon leading. Paula felt more tears assault her face as she walked at the back of the group, that speech had done her in…_

It was torture.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jamie felt nothing.

She couldn't explain it… She felt nothing.

That bubble of sadness was no longer a bubble.

It was all encompassing…

She couldn't feel anything else… The entire funeral she hadn't felt tears, or fear or regret. Only sadness and sorrow.

It was all she was now.

Feelings were so distant, she saw the people speaking to her, understood them perfectly… She just had no desire to talk… She knew they could understand her silence…

It was her fault… Billy had asked her to walk him to his room… She had told him to grow up and do it himself…

Her last words to her brother…

Her last words to him _ever_…

"_Don't be such a baby_."…

It was her fault… Entirely her fault… Her Mom had said it was her own fault as a mother but she was wrong…

Jamie had killed her brother…

Jamie had killed him…

It was her fault…

The first tear of the day rolled down her face as she was lead back inside, the station seeming cold and lifeless, her mother wasn't with her.

Somebody was next to her, Sophia, her new friend. Jamie didn't want to talk to Sophia at the moment… The girl was always scared and she didn't want to upset her…

She walked through aiming for the bedroom…

She didn't want to speak to anyone…

Just lie down and sleep…

As her head hit the pillow of the bed she heard more voices around her… Sophia… Carol… Duane…

She didn't want to talk…

She wanted to sleep…

And never wake up…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Mourning.

That was the word for it, the feeling in the station.

Carl walked through it randomly, not really paying attention to where he was. He practically had to wrench himself away from Carol for some time to himself, he would have preferred Sophia come with him but she was ever present at Jamie's side… Hannah hadn't stopped crying since the funeral and Jamie had just stood there, it had creeped Carl out how she was just... Empty.

Turning a corner he contemplated walking back, he decided he would in a minute or so before people started panicking about another missing child.

He found himself in the common room, he backed up though when he heard familiar voices.

His Mom and Shane.

Both sounded fairly angry.

"Lori… you know we can't do that, he is dead and you know it."

"I know Shane, I know… I was just… I don't know hoping…" his mother said in that vulnerable voice Carl hated to hear.

"It's ok… I don't blame you really… But I don't think finding Rick's body is goin' to help. Who says there is even a body? He may well be a…" Shane said, they were talking about his Dad… Something about his body.

"I just wanted… closure… I don't know, Shane." She said in what sounded like a choked voice. Carl looked around the corner to see his Mom and Shane hugging, he hated it when his mother was upset… It was one of the worst things Carl had ever seen in his life. The sight of his mother crumbling when she heard that her husband was dead.

Suddenly something changed in the hug, Carl couldn't describe it but it became… closer…

Suddenly without warning his mother looked up at Shane, there was a moment of eye contact between the two before she leant in and kissed him.

It was a long kiss… Like the ones she gave Dad…

Carl's heart closed up, he couldn't breathe… His Mom was kissing Shane… Dad hadn't even been dead for two weeks…

Carl wanted to leap out from his hiding place, the scream at his mother and his uncle and tell them what they were doing was wrong.

But all he could manage were tears, with a choked sob he turned and ran for his bedroom.


	21. Damaged

_Hi guys, I know I have left this story for just over 4 months but, to be honest, I had lost all faith in it. Now however I have done some more work on it and I've decided to give it another shot and at least try and round of what will probably be the 'Season 1' of the story._

_Enjoy _

Chapter 20:

Damage

Carl couldn't stop crying.

What the hell? He was 12 years old… He shouldn't be crying at little things like this. A little boy who was his friend had died yesterday and he was crying about seeing his Mom kiss someone?

But it was wrong, it was so wrong because Mom was Dad's wife… Carl was old enough to know that people would remarry after the death of their partner… But it had only been two weeks, nearly three. It was too soon, it's like Dad meant nothing.

Carl was curled up in the cubicle of one of the restroom stalls. He had been in there for half an hour and no-one had come looking, lately his mother or Carol had been keeping him within close grasp… Needless to say he found it annoying.

He looked around the stall which had become his new resting place, unlike the ones at school it was clean, no-one had written or graphitised it… It smelled clean, probably thanks to Carol, and the lock worked perfectly… Much unlike the toilets at his school.

He was still crying… He couldn't help it… He tried swallowing the gasping breaths but it only made it worse. He tried wiping his eyes until they hurt but they just bled more tears, he didn't want anyone to hug him, he was getting sick of people... They were either looking down on him, lying to him or treating him like a child, even Duane acted like he was much older than Carl when, in reality, he was only 8 months older.

Carl stood up shakily as he felt himself gain some control, if he was away for too long people would start to worry and come looking for him, he would probably get told off by his mother or even Shane. He had gotten scary lately… _really _scary.

Carl walked out of the cubicle and looked in the mirror. He didn't look too bad… His eyes were still very red but apart from that you couldn't really tell he had been crying…

Just as he thought the thought the door opened behind him, he spun around quickly at the noise as Sophia walked in.

"Hi Carl… Are you okay?" she asked examining his face, her expression became concerned as she looked into his eyes. He felt them begin to well up with tears again; he knew he had to get out of there before he started crying again.

"I'm fine." He said firmly pushing past her, she caught onto his arm and he spun around defensively.

"Carl…"

"Just let me go!" he all but yelled as he ran away, he regretted the action as soon as he had performed it but he couldn't cry again. He ran out of the bedroom, he collided with someone but he didn't pay attention to who it was as he sprinted into another room. He closed the door behind him as he began to weep again, as he looked up he realised he was in another office room, completely empty and void of people.

Carl began to cry again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The kid had barrelled into him at top speed and kept on going, Morgan had contemplated going after him but had decided against it once he realised the kid would probably be crying. He knew it was best for kids to cry some of the things out instead of talk them out.

"Morgan!" Paula's voice called out from behind him, Morgan spun around to see Paula walking towards him with a firm attitude.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We need to talk." She stated, Morgan head exploded with questions but he kept a straight face.

"About what?"

"About that scouting trip, I don't wanna be the one to say it but we gotta stop thinking about Billy and Rosie. We need those supplies." She said strongly, Morgan was surprised at the strong woman who stood before him.

"Probably a good idea… I don't know if everyone's feeling up to it though. I mean we just lost people and I don't think anybody wants anyone else in danger now." Morgan said but Paula shook her head.

"No, trust me people just need to get their minds off it. I was dead for a week after Tom and Freya died and I was no good to nobody, we need to start getting back into the routine before we fall apart, can't let something like this get in the way if we are gonna survive." She said, Morgan was surprised by her almost cutthroat attitude, gone was the frail woman who was demolished by the loss of her family, Paula was becoming a soldier.

"Paula…" Morgan tried to reason but stopped short of finishing when he realised she was right, they had to start doing things or it was gonna be like Jenny all over again.

"Yes Morgan?" she asked as Morgan looked her in the eye.

"You're right, we should get whoever we can find who will go with us, one question though."

"Yes?"

"Why'd you come to me? You'd be better off talking to Shane or Lam about this." he asked, Paula looked around before talking in a quieter voice.

"Way I see it Morgan, you're one of my best allies."

"Allies?"

"Mhmm. Way I see it we all got allies in this group, I may have Lori and Shane but Lori's so wrapped up in her family and Shane won't listen to me, but you… you listen Morgan, because you're that kind of person. I need people like you to help me." She stated looking serious, Morgan saw the sense but was still slightly lost for words.

"Um… yeah, I'll talk to him when I can. I'll talk tomorrow, things are still pretty tender." He said, Paula nodded and walked past him, he looked at her as she walked away, what had happened to her?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah looked in the mirror at her own reflection.

She was tired, she had actually cried herself to sleep last night. Her blonde hair was sticking up in places and her eyes were red and sore. She took a deep breath as she tried to tidy herself up a bit.

She hadn't stopped thinking of Billy since his death… Every moment was like a dagger in her heart but she could do nothing about it, she needed to pull herself together though, not just for herself but for Jamie. Her daughter hadn't spoken a word since she fainted, Hannah had tried talking to her but she was comatose, when she woke she was nearly no different, she wasn't eating, barely drinking and showing no emotion whatsoever.

Hannah pulled her hair back into a bun and splashed some water on her face that was in the bowl. She needed to pull herself together, no more moping around and no more feeling sorry for herself. She had her time to mourn and Billy wouldn't want her to be like this, the feeling in her throat came back but no tears accompanied it, maybe she had no more tears left to cry?

"Hannah?" Carol's voice rang out softly from behind the closed door, Hannah walked over and unlocked it as she saw the woman, her eyes full of concern.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry, you'd been in there for a while and… well…"

"It's okay, I understand. Is she any better?" Hannah asked, Carol shook her head as the mothers eyes rested on her daughter, she was still lying in the bed facing the ceiling, exactly the way she was half an hour ago.

"No… I'm so sorry." She consoled but Hannah held up a hand.

"I know Carol… Everyone is, doesn't change anything…" she said, she rested beside her daughter and held her hand, she felt pressure back but no change in her expression. "Hey sweetie, it's Mommy… I'm here sweetie… It's okay…"

"No it's not." She said bluntly, Hannah's heart clenched at the words but she tried to continue.

"It will be fine sweetie…"

"Of course it won't be Mom, Billy's dead… You let him die…" she seethed, still not looking at her mother.

"Jamie…" Hannah gasped but her daughter just turned her head and fixed her with an icy stare.

"You said you'd protect us."

"I… tried…" Hannah choked but her daughter just shook her head with her own tears filling her eyes.

"You didn't… He is dead because of you!" she screamed as she rose, she bolted for the door pushing Carol out of the way, Hannah wanted to go after her but she was paralysed by her own guilt.

She was right.

It was her fault.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_2 Hours Later_

Fred and Shane sat on the roof of the station on watch, the sun would be setting soon and their shift would be over. Shane was glad to have Fred with him, he wasn't much of a talker and Shane needed to think, things were in disarray now… He felt it in the group, he felt the eyes on him, since when did he become their friggin' leader?

The door from the stairwell opened and Shane turned to see Cindy step through holding dinner in her hands.

"Hey boys, we're kicking it up today. Get ready for Baked Beans a la Carol." She commented handing the two bowls she was carrying to Shane and Fred, she kissed Fred before sitting down on a spare seat next to them, she looked as exhausted as they all did, even the red top and demin jeans looked tired.

"Shane, you need to do something." She stated, Shane turned to her slightly surprised, it wasn't like Cindy to speak out.

"What do you mean?"

"This group, us, we're breaking apart." She said in a fearful voice but looking serious. Shane looked to Fred who looked from his wife to him, clearly this was her idea.

"I'm trying Cindy, but what can I do? Half of you don't know me." He complained, Cindy shook her head and waved the comment off.

"That doesn't matter, we don't need to know you Shane. But you need to do something _fast_. Carol just told me that Jamie yelled at Hannah blaming Billy's death on her..."

"Oh God…" Fred mumbled.

"…not to mention Hannah herself has gone back to depression. Sophia's upset that Carl shouted at her and he was crying at the time as well, now Leon just spends his time at the rifle range and Paula's going all G.I. Jane." Cindy continued but Shane cut her short.

"Come on Cindy, these are human beings! What do you expect that to do when a kid dies?"

"I'm not saying some of these actions aren't justified but Shane these people are breaking down, the kids are upset beyond anything and the parents, they don't know what to do!"

"So what do you propose then?! You want me to set up a group therapy session where we can talk about our feelings?!" Shane shouted getting in her face, she retreated and her form was replaced by Fred who was on his feet.

"Whoa Shane… Easy boy, just relax." He said placing a hand on his chest and pushing him back slightly, Shane paced around as Cindy spoke up again.

"I'm not saying there is a quick fix, I'm just saying that these people look up to you Shane, they look to you for guidance." She said calmly, Shane wiped his mouth and looked at the couple.

"So what do we do?" he asked, Cindy looked at her husband who nodded.

"We should all do our part. You can start by talking to Carl with Lori, I think he just needs to talk it out instead of shouting it, I can have Carol talk to Sophia and I can talk to Jamie with Morgan, it was his job anyway." She proposed, Shane had been regretting this moment for a while, he didn't want to talk to Carl like a father… He wasn't his father… him and Lori didn't mean that he was but… he needed to prove himself, be the father that Carl needed.

"Okay." He said, he checked his watch and saw that his shift was nearly over, he could probably ask Leon and Lam to cover the night shift for him. "Shift's over, Fred can you get Leon and Lam up here?" he asked, Fred nodded and moved off with his wife leaving Shane alone, he looked over the slowly darkening horizon and saw a lone walker crossing the park in the distance… something had to change… hopefully soon.


	22. Gonna Get Ugly

Chapter 21:

Gonna Get Ugly

The air was so thick in the common room Morgan could have cut it with a knife, everybody was present for dinner except for Hannah, Jamie and Leon. Leon was on watch (he still hadn't spoken to anyone since Rosie had passed), Jamie had shut herself in Cell 4C and resumed her silence and Hannah had gone to bed early, Morgan looked at the faces around him and saw the same expression on everyone's faces.

Restraint.

It had been over two weeks now since the initial outbreak and the realisation that any help was out of the question was now permanent, not to mention the fact that food was running low and most of the people here still barely knew one-another.

There were three tables set apart from each other, it was a clear show of how the group was divided that disturbed Morgan all the more.

Shane, Lori, Carl, Paula, Carol and Sophia took up one table by themselves, the usually somewhat playful Carl and Sophia were silent next to each other as Carol attempted small talk in the group, on the second table sat Fred, Cindy, Morgan, Duane and what should have been Hannah and Jamie, the third table would have Lam, Rosie, Leon and sometimes Shane but it was only Lam who sat in silence with the checklists nearby, he had become the unofficial stock taker for the station.

Morgan couldn't take the silence anymore, before what happened to Rosie and Billy there would be general hubbub and at least a few louder voices.

"I was thinking about the supply run we were talking about." Morgan said suddenly, he felt all the eyes in the room swivel towards him as Shane spoke.

"Thinking what?" he asked in his usual blunt tone.

"Thinking we need to actually… you know… do it." He said, Shane looked down at his cold meal of refried rice whilst the others had mixed reactions, although Morgan saw Paula, Lam and Fred nodding he also saw Lori whisper something to Shane as well as Carol biting her lip.

"He has a point." Paula spoke up, it was her idea to bring it up and she was obviously in support, Lori had finished whispering to Shane who stood up and spoke to Morgan.

"I know we need to make a run soon but… I don't know if we're ready yet." He questioned, Lori and Carol both nodded but Fred interrupted.

"It's not about whether we're ready or not Shane… I've seen the food supplies we have and their not good, Carol can back me up." He gestured to Carol, the woman looked worried but turned to Shane and spoke softly.

"I could make it last but… for this many people I don't know…"

"It doesn't have to be many people," Paula cut in "Just 3 or 4 who can sneak into the Costco, maybe grab some food and basic things like clothes and come back, like we talked about a few days ago."

"No, if we do a run like Costco we need to make it big… If we do small ones then a lot of effort gets spent for nothing." Shane interjected but Lori started shaking her head.

"I don't think we're ready Shane, I mean you've seen things around here at the moment we just need time to find our feet-" she tried explaining but Paula cut her off.

"For God's sakes Lori, we've been here for over a week, I think we have our feet and we need to use them."

"I understand what you're saying Paula but we can't have people going out there willy-nilly unless their prepared, we can't have untrained people taking on walkers." Shane said but Fred chipped in.

"We've all taken on walkers before Shane."

"Yeah and look at some of the people we've lost." Lam counter argued, taking Shane's side.

"Maybe those with gun training could go and those who haven't could stay behind?" Carol offered timidly but Shane shook his head.

"No, I don't want this place unprotected."

"It won't be, we'll leave behind one or two trained people, let's not forget the worst walker attack we've had since we got here was only so devastating because we were unprepared." Paula argued but Shane cut her off once more.

"No, I will not be responsible for more people dying. We wait for things to settle, we need people's minds clear if we are going to hit Costco…"

"No." a stuffy voice interrupted him, a very beaten looking Hannah stood in the doorway wrapped in a blanket, her face was a mess, her hair dishevelled, it was clear she had had a rough few hours.

"No, what?" Shane questioned, Hannah stepped forward and spoke in a shaky voice.

"No, I don't want you all to be so… careful about what happened, my son died, that's what happened. He died because of me and the fact that we were unprepared, I don't want people thinking that because something went wrong that we should just stop. Nobody but me is to blame."

"Hannah…" Lori tried chipping in but Hannah held up her hand to silence her, she walked over to Shane and looked him in the eye.

"Please… don't make me feel worse than I already do." She all but whispered, Shane looked around the room and stepped back.

"Fine, we make a quick run and I mean _real _quick. Anyone still up for it?" he asked.

Morgan was about to answer when his throat betrayed him, he looked to his side to look at Duane, his son had been shaky since this thing had started, the carefree and playful attitude he once had was missing replaced by fear… a fear Morgan shared… a fear that someone he loves wouldn't come back.

He couldn't put his son through that… not again.

It seemed several of the others had the same thoughts, however Paula's hand raised slowly but confidently.

"You sure?" Shane asked with a critical tone, Paula's eyes narrowed.

"I'm sure Shane, I can take them on… I want to help." She expressed, the officer nodded and looked around, his eyes settled on Morgan but nobody else realised, Morgan slowly shook his head and Shane nodded.

"Anybody else?" he asked looking around, Hannah shook her head and moved away walking solemnly back to her room, Carol followed after her with a concerned look on her face.

"I'll go." A voice came from the back of the room, Leon stood there in the same old uniform carrying a rifle, with a nod to Lam he handed the rifle to the senior officer who moved off the cover the shift.

"That's three, I'd like another but if anyone can't manage…" Shane said but he was cut short by Fred spoke up.

"I'll go, believe it or not I fixed up the generators at Costco a few times, I know a handy back entrance." He said but he was cut short slightly by his wife.

"Fred, no!" she exclaimed looking at him like he's crazy.

"Cindy, please." He said effectively silencing her, the look of rage on her face was imminent as she stood up abruptly and marched off back to her quarters, Fred sighed and followed but turned around to Shane.

"I'm still going." He said, a stale silence followed the exit before Shane spoke up.

"Well we have our group, me, Paula, Leon and, most likely, Fred. The plan is the same as we planned before but smaller, when we are away I want Lam in charge. We'll meet tomorrow, early morning guys." He said before walking off, presumably to bed. Lori started fussing over plates as Carl followed Shane and everyone started cleaning up.

All Morgan could think was that he was too afraid.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oh no, oh no, oh no… Why did she open her mouth? Why did she open her big fat mouth? She shouldn't have said it… she _really _shouldn't have said it… it was a bad thing to say and she wasn't thinking…

Jamie was crying again, she had shut herself in a cell and had been crying for the last few hours.

She told her Mom that Billy dying was her fault… she shouldn't have said it… even if that was what she was feeling…

But it was Jamie's fault as well…

She didn't want to feel this bad anymore.

"Jamie?" a quiet voice came from outside, Jamie recognised it as Sophia's. She debated whether to open the doors but she recognised something in the girl's voice… a touch of sadness?

Jamie wiped her face and opened the door, Sophia stood there by herself holding a pillow and a blanket.

"Hi, Mom said I could sleep with you in here if you wanted, I have bedding here." She said nodding to a pillow and blanket on the floor. Jamie smiled and nodded, Sophia gave her a brief hug before they unrolled the sleeping gear and lay next to each other.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, Jamie was about to answer _'No, I said something bad to my Mom and now I hate myself for it…' _but there was that thing in Sophia's voice again, she buried her own issues out of concern for her friend.

"I'm feeling a bit better, I had an argument with Mom but… doesn't matter. Are you ok?" she asked looking at Sophia, the young girl sighed and spoke timidly.

"I… I don't think… I don't think Carl likes me." She stated in a sad tone, despite her equally sad feeling Jamie scoffed and spoke bluntly.

"Are you kidding? You two are inseparable… We're lucky you ain't married with little kids running around." She chuckled but Sophia looked at her really concerned.

"He yelled at me to leave him alone. I was only going to see if he was okay and he was angry…" she vented, her eyes started to water again but Jamie hugged her. Even though she still felt rotten inside she didn't want Sophia to feel bad.

"He doesn't hate you, maybe he was upset and he didn't want you to see?" Jamie suggested to her, Sophia just shrugged her shoulders and changed the subject.

For the rest of the evening the girls just chatted, first about the supply trip tomorrow, then Jamie's mom and why she was angry at her. Only when Sophia managed to chain-yawn 3 times did they decide to go to sleep.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They had decided to take one of the vans used to escort riot officers since it was very spacious, Paula was apprehensive about the raid on Costco but at the same time she was excited, there was something about being a valuable member of the group she was starting to relish.

"Okay so the plan is this," Shane began, the threesome of Fred, Paula and Leon along with Lori and Lam were gathered around the whiteboard in the conference room where Shane had a detailed map drawn out (courtesy of Fred's knowledge of Costco) "the four of us will use the delivery entrance into the building, luckily the drop-off links directly to the store, when we get there we will pair up, me and Paula will be a pair…"

"Great…" Paula muttered very quietly so nobody could hear.

"… and Leon and Fred will pair up. Our essentials for this trip will be canned foods, bottled water or some juice packs, frozen foods and maybe some clothing if you find anything, everyone just grab medium sized, Carol said she can work with anything."

"The generators also need fuel. There a 7-Eleven nearby?" Leon asked and Fred answered.

"Adjacent to the delivery drop-off, hit it after we finish off Costco?" Fred asked Shane.

"Good idea, but we'll have to be quick with it, and we'll need someone on lookout for when we hit it. Paula?" he asked.

"Sure." She conceded, for the entire dick that Shane was he knew how to organise a raid.

"I think we also keep several vehicles gassed up. Never know when we might have to make a quick exit." Lori suggested, Shane nodded and wrote it on the board on the list they had compiled.

"Great. Everybody get your weapons from the armoury, we'll leave in 10 minutes." Shane announced and the meeting was disbanded, everyone filed out as Paula followed Leon and Fred to the armoury, as they turned a corner Leon spoke in a firm tone.

"Now let's be clear about this before we leave, you two are civilians, you may know how to shoot but when me or Shane give the order, you obey." He said before walking into the armoury, Paula scoffed and turned to Fred but the middle aged man just shrugged and followed him. Paula went to find her pistol, it was exactly where she had left it, ammo and all, Fred went to get his rifle but Leon handed him a pistol just like Paula's instead.

"No rifle, too loud. Everyone's on pistols, just like Paula." He said, again talking down to Paula slightly, she didn't want to think that Rosie's death had affected Leon too much but in the last few days he had been… rougher.

"Sure." Fred said as he found ammo for the pistol, Paula turned to see Shane walk up with his shotgun shouldered, it was the only shotgun of its kind in the station and Shane always held on to it like it had threatened to leave him for another owner.

"Need shells?" Leon asked and Shane nodded, Leon handed him a box and Shane started to sort through, now the meeting was over and everyone was preparing the weaponry Paula was starting to feel more nervous.

"Silent weapons?" Shane asked and Leon pulled a box out from the bottom shelf, it had a lot of things in it, axes, crowbars, baseball bats, even a spiked club.

"Take your pick." Leon said and Shane picked up one of the sturdier looking axes.

"You kept these things around in case of the walking dead?" Paula asked sarcastically, Shane just chuckled before resuming his normal gloomy face.

"Nah, these are confiscated weapons. We usually just dispose of them when we arrest someone, now what do you want, crowbar? Axe?" he asked picking up the items as he read them off, Paula took a slightly smaller hand-axe, she test swung it and it felt slightly heavy on the end.

Hopefully she would have no use for it.

"What happens if it all goes to hell and we get scattered?" Paula asked as the thought entered her head, Shane looked up from his shotgun which he was cleaning yet again.

"We find whatever way we can to get back to station, we all know the area well enough to make our own way. We just make sure not to bring a whole heap o' walkers back with us." He said, he held the shotgun up, satisfied with the quality, Fred and Leon walked together past Paula back to the cafeteria, Paula put her pistol in her waistband and grabbed the axe and followed them.

In the common room Lori, Carl, Lam, Cindy and Hannah were all there to see them off. As Fred walked through he embraced Cindy as she cried quietly into his shoulder, Paula couldn't help being once more reminded of Tom, she shook the thoughts from her head as Lori hugged Shane goodbye, however she noticed Carl simply leave the room, although she wished to pursue him she simply accepted the pat of good luck from Lam.

Shane withdrew from Lori and looked directly at Lam.

"You stay on watch until we get back." He told the man but Cindy cut over him.

"I'll be on watch as well, I won't move until you come back." Cindy said and she hugged Fred again, together Cindy and Lori travelled with the foursome to the rear of the building, Shane went outside first with his shotgun ready, he signalled the coast was clear and everyone followed him, Paula turned to see Lori and Cindy closing the door behind them and sealing the building.

"Paula, you're with me in the front!" Shane ordered, Paula climbed into the passenger seat as Shane jumped in the driver's seat and started the ignition, Shane passed her the walkie they would be using to contact the station.

"Call in that walker over there." He ordered as he started the engine and began to pull out, Paula saw the small female walker limping toward the van, as Shane accelerated away Paula spoke into the device.

"It's Paula, we got a walker coming up the back, she might follow us but I um… thought I'd let you know." She said, the walkie crackled as the voice of Lam replied.

"_Got it, thanks." _

"Try to keep radio silence when we are in the store, if a walker overhears the walkie they'll probably come runnin'." Shane said as they turned into a back road, Paula heard a faint thud from the rear of the van and chuckled as she knew that either Fred or Leon had fallen over. A few more walkers walked into the path but Shane dodged them as the shopping district came into few.

"Oh God…this is gonna get ugly." Paula muttered.


	23. Run N' Gun

_Random Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any profits to do with it, if I was getting money for this I would be writing way more often._

Chapter 22:

Run N' Gun

Lori marched back through the station as Cindy peeled off to take watch duty, her head was still spinning from the split decision made by the group to send some of their best off on some ridiculous gamble for supplies. She marched into the common area where Carol was sat with Sophia, Carl and Duane. As Lori retrieved a bottle of water to drink Carol rose and walked over, she spoke in a slightly hushed tone.

"Lori, could I talk to you for just a moment… about Carl?" She said, Lori felt her heart tense slightly at the thought, she knew she had been putting off talking to him, she had been slightly hoping that he would start to find his own feet…

"What about?" she asked taking another sip, however as she looked over to the kids she saw a tenseness between them, Sophia was scribbling in a notebook and Carl was playing a card game by himself, both not making eye contact or even speaking.

"That." Carol said simply as she followed Lori's eye-line to the children, Lori nodded and they walked into the hallway, over Carol's shoulder Lori saw Morgan and Hannah talking in one of the offices.

Lori and Carol both entered an adjacent office, Carol closed the door and spoke in a serious note.

"I would like to say before I speak that… I know it isn't my place to tell parents how to discipline their children but…" Carol began but she trailed off slightly looking nervous.

"But…" Lori egged her on, she knew the older woman didn't enjoy direct confrontation.

"But… I think you need to talk to Carl about how he is handling this whole… situation." She said slowly and cautiously, as though she was afraid that if she said the wrong thing Lori would pick up the office chair and throw it at her.

"What do you mean?" Lori questioned.

"Sophia told me about what Carl did the other day, I don't know if you've heard but apparently he yelled at her and it upset her a bit… it wasn't a lot but maybe you should maybe have a quick word with him about it or…?" Carol trailed off, Lori sighed and sat in the office chair before cradling her hand in her hands, as much as she loved Carl the last thing she needed was for him to start acting up…

"I'll talk to him… you have to understand though in the last three weeks he's been put through hell." Lori said and Carol nodded.

"I understand completely, Sophia's the same things… she even lost her father as well but a good talk really can settle things out." Carol reassured as Lori took her head out of her hands.

"Ok… thanks." Lori smiled half-heartedly, Carol smiled and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before leaving the office to go back to the children. Lori took a deep breath and finished off the bottle of water, she hadn't even realised she had been finishing it off until she was left with the empty bottle, she placed it in the bin before realising that no-one would probably empty the bin… nor would anyone collect the rubbish from it, it would just sit there for however long this thing went on for…

It was always the little things that got to her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shane pulled the van neatly into the delivery space, three walkers were lumbering towards them, two rather close but one in the distance, the two ambling towards the van were both ironically dressed in Costco uniforms.

"Paula, you got the one on the left?" Shane asked as he handled the axe he chose back at the station, Paula held onto her smaller axe tightly as she nodded. She exited the vehicle and saw Shane slowly edge towards the advancing walker, he then took the axe and swung it over his head and down on onto their face, the walker collapsed as Paula turned her attention to the one advancing on her.

She held her axe tightly as it got closer, her heart was beating _really _fast, the rank smell of decay filled her nostrils as she copied what Shane did before, the smaller axe embedded itself in the walkers face. Paula cringed as blood ran from the wound and the monster keeled back over and rested on the tarmac.

Paula gagged slightly, still unable to control her gag reflex even if it had been nearly 3 weeks of the same old shit.

"You ok?" Fred asked from behind her, she turned to see him looking concerned.

"It's okay, just takes some getting used to doesn't it?" she joked as she instinctively wiped the face-matter on her trouser leg before cringing again. She then followed Fred to where Shane and Leon were standing, it wasn't until now she had realised that Shane had forgone the Pistol Only rule in favour of his shotgun… again.

"Okay, y'all know the plan, Paula you're with me, we're on canned foods, Leon and Fred I want you to keep your eyes out for anything else of use, but take anything you can." He ordered as Leon passed a camping backpack to Shane as Fred gave Paula one, she slid it over her arm and checked the ammo in her pistol, 15 shots like she left it.

"Got it." She said and Fred took the lead, they navigated the turned over crates of mismatched merchandise, a large male walker lumbered from behind a large section of plywood but Leon ran up and embedded a crowbar through its eye.

"Keep going." Shane said behind her, Paula passed Leon who withdrew the crowbar as the body fell. They reached a door next to the main open entry towards the store, Paula gagged again when she saw at least 10 bodies lying on top of each other.

"Oh God…" she muttered as she turned away, maybe that's why using the delivery entrance wasn't the best idea.

"If we use this entrance we go through where the generators are, through there is a door into the cold storage facility. That's the sneakiest way I can think of, walkers will probably be all over the main entrances after the riots me and Cindy lived through." He explained, Paula raised her head to see Fred and Leon opening the door and walking through, Paula stood up but Shane stopped her by the doorway.

"Are you sure you can do this?" he asked again, Paula pushed the hand off her shoulder, making sure she didn't brain him with the axe whilst doing so.

"I'm sure, Shane. How many times do I have to tell you?" she asked irritated. Shane shrugged and they walked through together, ahead they saw Fred and Leon walking ahead carefully.

"I hear ya… just never knew you to do anything wild." He said, Paula chuckled whilst keeping an eye out.

"Well, I know I'm not known for my adventurous nature. Truth is I _crave _adventure. When I left high school I wanted to climb mountains, hike though the wilderness and see exotic places… I'm even trained in first aid and I was a volunteer EMT before I met Tom… But then I got pregnant and Tom was _so _busy with work that I had to stay home with Freya…all of my dreams just never happened." She reflected sadly, she turned to see Shane shrugging sadly, actually sympathising with her story.

"Well… on the bright side. Now you get the adventure you always wanted." He joked but Paula missed the joke whilst lost in her thoughts.

"I guess, but it cost me my family." She said solemnly, she turned to see Fred open the door to cold storage and immediately they were greeted by a group of five frozen walkers all gnawing on a piece of large meat on the floor.

"My, my…" Leon muttered, all five of the walkers, all draped in Costco uniform, rose and stood up slowly, very slowly.

"Seems the cold slows them down." Paula stated readying her axe, she saw the three men all do the same as the walkers started to slowly move towards them.

"One each?" Shane asked moving ahead cautiously.

"I'll take the two fat ones." Leon said referring to the heavy-set men in the middle.

"I've got the princess." Paula said as she noticed that the skinniest female had long blonde hair.

"I'm taking the one on the far right." Fred stated.

"I don't mind leftovers." Shane said as he advanced first alongside Leon, wet thuds resounded around the room as Paula moved left slightly to draw her walker away from the others, the female walker tried diving for her but Paula knocked her over with the blunt side of the axe, when she hit the floor she brought the axe down on her skull being rewarded with another wet thud, however the axe didn't sink in and the walker rose again but a quick boot to the face stopped her short.

"Oh, that was _not _fun…" she muttered, another wet thud made her turn, she saw Leon smashing in the face of one of the larger walkers.

"Leon." Fred said simply, the cop stopped and looked at the mess of what used to be a face, he grumbled and wiped the crowbar on his uniform.

"Sorry." He said simply, Paula looked past him to see Shane examining the meat pile… however on second glance it wasn't a meat pile.

It was another pile of human bodies.

"Christ…" she muttered as she walked over to them, as she did Shane rose and turned to the other three.

"We may have a problem." He declared bluntly.

"What?" Paula asked dumbfounded, Shane pointed down to the bodies.

"These bodies were not walkers. They were human when they died, all of them have a single gunshot wound to the head." He said, Paula cringed as she looked at the closest body on the pile, the larger woman didn't look like she had been a walker… her skin seemed fresher and she also had a single gunshot to the head.

"The ones by the entrance?" Leon asked and Shane nodded.

"Same thing, these people weren't attacked by walkers."

"They were rounded up and shot." Paula seethed, it had only been about two or three weeks since the outbreak and people were acting like the old world was never coming back.

"Dear God…" Fred muttered looking around, Paula shared the worry, these bandits could still be here.

"I don't think we should chance it Shane." She stated, Shane looked at her with a mixture of concern and irritation.

"I feel it to Paula but… we can't just go home with nothing. Fred, check some of these meats and see if they are still good to use, Leon go back to the entrance and eye up some of that merchandise, also keep an eye out for the people who may have done this and let us know via walkie. Paula stay with me, we're gonna see what we can find." Shane ordered, Leon departed as Fred started checking the meat in the storage, Shane shouldered his shotgun and Paula withdrew her pistol, if there were armed people here killing others she didn't want to be pandering around with her little axe.

"So what's the plan?" she asked as they entered the actual store, it was a mess, everything was scattered like people had trashed the place, this was going to be a _nightmare_.

"Plan is to grab what we can and get back to the station, if these people are still here then it's trouble for us, I don't want the group split any more than it should be." Shane said, the store seemed barren so they started looking at the tinned foods, some had lost their labels but Paula was not being picky, she was picking up anything she could get her hands on, this weighed her down but she knew it was worth it.

"I got some water and juice, you got some food?" Shane asked rounding the corner, Paula nodded and tried standing up, the pack weighed her down but she got to her feet.

"You got it?" he asked, Paula nodded.

"Anything else?" she asked and he nodded, he turned and Paula followed him, slowly, to the preserves aisle, he took down some random jars and stuffed them in his backpack, Paula saw a few packs of potatoes that still looked like they had some life in them, she stuffed them in her backpack before hearing a faint pop.

A gunshot.

A few moments of silence passed as Paula stared as Shane before he picked up the walkie.

"Leon, what the hell was that?!_" _he seethed in the walkie, Leon panicked voice crackled back.

"_You better hurry man, there's 20 of them and they're all coming for me, they are about a few minutes of stumblin' away man but you gotta hurry!"_ Leon's voice replied, another pop went off and Paula knew he was trying to shoot them down.

"Shit!" Shane shouted and he started to run towards where they came in, Paula tried following but the bag was wearing her down, she could only manage a light jog. She followed Shane into the refrigerated section to see Fred join them.

"That gunfire I hear?" he asked panicked.

"Yeah, we gotta go!" Shane replied, Fred picked up his backpack and followed, Paula continued after them withdrawing her pistol from her waistband again. As they ran through the generator area the popping became louder. However what came out of the walkie on Paula's waist, the one connected to the station's walkie, made her stop dead in her tracks.

"_Shane! We need you guys back now!" _Hannah's voice shrieked, Shane and Fred both turned at the sound with a look of horror, Shane grabbed the walkie and barked into the walkie.

"What is it?" he asked.

"_People! With guns!" _

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

_Earlier…_

Hannah walked solemnly through the station, she had been put through her paces lately with the disaster, the death of her son and now Jamie's breakdown. She had just spent a few minutes speaking quickly to Morgan who offered a few words of comfort. She was coming to rely more on the man in the last few days, what with all of the events of late she had been very distraught but they had taken a watch shift the night before at the same time and had talked about everything.

Apparently Duane was just as shaken, he was a pretty bland kid but he had still been hit hard. Hannah couldn't help but admire Morgan, after all that had happened the kid looked up to him… Jamie couldn't even look at her…

Morgan had told her to give Jamie space, she needed to come to her own forgiveness of sorts, Hannah knew he was right but knowing she was that angry made her sad, what only added to the sadness was Leon. He and Hannah had been flirting on and off since she had arrived… nothing serious but still... he had stopped being cheerful now and was more solemn than most of the group, he had barely spoken to her since Billy and Rosie had passed and Hannah knew why.

He blamed her for Rosie's death, the sad truth was it was Hannah's fault… her neglect of her son's safety lead to Rosie's attempt to save him… and her failure.

"Hannah?" a small voice behind her said, Hannah turned to see Sophia standing there.

"Yes, honey?" Hannah asked.

"Have you seen Jamie?" she asked, Hannah thought hard but knew she didn't know her daughters whereabouts.

"No, sorry." Hannah said, Sophia looked slightly down.

"Oh, she must still be on the roof then." She said, Hannah's brain did a double take.

"On the roof?"

"Yeah, I saw her go up the stairs after breakfast." She said, she shrugged and walked away. Hannah sighed and wondered what her daughter was doing on the roof, she leant against the wall next to her, on the wall they had written small notes with arrows on them to show where things like the bathroom were. After Billy they weren't going to be careless.

Hannah decided to go up to the roof, she didn't like the idea of her daughter spending too much time up there nagging people, at least if Jamie was still having an attitude she would go back inside to avoid Hannah.

She walked up the stairwell and opened the door to the roof, she looked to see Lam, Cindy and Jamie all sat down looking out over the front of the station, they all turned and Jamie turned away quickly, choosing instead to ignore Hannah then give her attitude.

"Hey, what can I do for you?" Lam asked, Hannah liked him, she felt safe in his presence.

"Hey, I just wanted to know when my shift was." She lied.

"You can join us if you want, but we're changing over when the others come back." He said, Hannah looked sideways at her daughter who was still not looking at her, she saw Cindy bite her lip and knew she had her sympathy.

"Nah, I'm gonna go inside, I'm gonna help Carol with chores anyway." She said, however as she turned to leave she heard something faint, very quiet but loud enough to get her attention. She stopped dead in her tracks and saw Lam look at her with a concerned face.

"What is it?" he asked, Cindy and Jamie turned to look at her as she strained her ears.

"You hear that?" she said, Lam stopped and listened as did Cindy and Jamie. It sounded rough…

Like an engine.

"Is that them?" Cindy asked, Lam stood up and look around. Hannah saw it first, two large armoured vans drove out from a side street and along the stations street.

"Oh my God…" Lam muttered, the vans drove up towards the car park in front of the station.

"Who are they?" Cindy asked, Hannah wanted to answer but she was hesitant until they stepped out. It was an all-male brigade, all of them looked like your standard white-trash, Hannah wasn't a stereotype-ist but that's how to best describe them. There were a few moments of silence as the rednecks walked in front of their vehicle and looked up to where the four of them were.

They were all armed.

"Jamie, go inside and tell Morgan to bring up some guns." Hannah ordered, her daughter forgot about her vendetta against her and ran inside. The tallest redneck, armed with a large rifle stepped forward and spoke loudly.

"Hey! How y'all doin'?!" he shouted, Lam handed the walkie off to Cindy who took a step back and talked firmly into it, the walkie was on a station that was on a CB in the common area and on a walkie that Lori had.

"Guys we have people outside, Lori get the kids together in the common area and get Morgan to get some weapons up here, these guys are armed." She spoke into the walkie as Lam responded to the men.

"We're doin' fine thanks! What can we do for you?!" Lam asked maintaining the southern hospitality King County was renowned for.

"Yeah! We're looking for a place to stay! See we've been sleeping in these vans and we're mighty sore." He yelled back up, Hannah was scared that he wanted something like this, the staircase door opened behind her and she saw Morgan run through with a satchel of what looked like shotguns, Hannah ran to him to stop the rednecks from seeing him.

"What the hell is goin' on here?" he asked as he dropped the satchel, inside were not only shotguns but pistols, Hannah saw hers in there and she took it out, loaded it and switched off the safety before stuffing it into her waistband and concealing it with her shirt.

"Rednecks, with shotguns. They want to stay here." She explained, his eyes widened as Cindy walked back over to Lam.

"Well we can't just let you in, you've got guns!" Lam yelled back holding his own shotgun. Hannah walked over to join them to see the men growing irate.

"So you're just sending us away?! Not very hospitable! What if we don't want to go?!" the lead redneck said, he wore a tacky denim overall complete with the dirty white shirt.

"There are 13 of us and 5 of you and we are all trained in firearms! You do the math!" Cindy yelled in a fearful voice, she left out the fact that 4 were kids and their best shooters were all missing.

"Well I like a challenge!" an even filthier redneck in a bad tank top and combat trousers shouted before raising his shotgun and firing.

The bang jolted Hannah who acted on instinct alone, she withdrew her gun and fired 5 shots at random as she dived backwards with Cindy.

"Shit! You okay?!" Hannah asked a collapsed Cindy as Lam rapidly fired his shotgun, loud bangs filled the air as Hannah received no answer.

"Cindy?" she asked fearfully as she pulled on the woman's shoulder, Cindy rolled over and Hannah screamed when she saw the massive hole in her chest. She saw the walkie in Cindy's fallen hand as Morgan ran forward and joined the fray with a shotgun of his own, she picked up the walkie and saw the setting change, she changed it to the channel that Shane's group were using, they needed them now.

"Shane! We need you guys now!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Shane was running hard with his shotgun aloft, his job was to protect Paula who was carrying all the weight since she wasn't the best shot. Hannah hadn't gone into detail saying she was in the fire fight but said they needed to rush back.

"Come on!" he shouted at Paula, she could only walk briskly since it weighed so much, Fred kicked through the door to the delivery entrance and saw Leon being assaulted by a group of walkers, he was firing into the crowd using a pistol and every shot was landing.

With the noise already being absolute Shane and Fred joined the fray, the walkers fell fast but it was a big group, just like the one at the gas station back when Ed was still alive.

"Paula! Get those in the truck and start it up!" he ordered handing her the keys, she ran in front of him and he covered her, she showed no fear against them as they fell around her, she threw the bags into the back as Leon and Fred ran towards the rear still shooting. She runs around the other side as Shane makes his way to the passenger seat.

_Click click click_

"Shit." He cursed, a small female walker lunged for him but he beat it back long enough to crawl into the passenger seat, however as they set off there were yells from the back then a thud but Paula didn't stop as they broke through the locked gates on the other side.

"Shit, we forgot the gas." Paula cursed as she floored it, they had lost the group of walkers now as they hit the suburban streets.

"_Guys." _Leon's dim voice came over the walkie.

"Yeah?" Shane replied, his heart stood still expecting the worst.

"_They got Fred." _He announced, Paula and Shane's eyes locked in a dismal glance.

"Fuck!" Shane yelled as he punched the dashboard, if this wasn't a failed trip he didn't know what was.

"_Dragged him out before I could close the door… Didn't stand a chance." _Leon explained dimly from the back, Shane was full of guilt… He was so full of guilt, first for being such a bad leader then for the things with Lori, they had grown closer not only emotionally but physically...

But he didn't have time to wallow, he needed to get back to the station immediately to save everyone else from the bandits… they were probably the same people who had hit the Costco.

Which means they were taking no prisoners.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah had dragged Cindy's body back to a safe place but it was too late, she was dead, blood had gushed from her mouth and she had choked on it before dying. Hannah was torn between going inside and hugging her child or defending the station but she couldn't get a shot in and Lam and Morgan were firing wildly.

"Hannah! They're firing into the lower levels! Get everyone down!" Lam yelled, Hannah's heart stopped for a second but she nodded, she picked up a shotgun and cocked it.

It was loaded.

She flew down the stairs nearly running into Jamie on the way down.

"What's happening?!" she asked hugging Hannah.

"Honey, stay close and stay low!" she yelled, she ran into the station towards the entrance to see Lori huddling over Carl protecting him from the hail of gunfire propelling in through the windows, she and him were pressed up against a reception desk but the gunfire was pinning them down, Carl was crying and Lori was cringing, on the floor a smear of blood stood out on the white tile.

"Whose hurt?!" Hannah shouted in fear, Lori held up her hand and Hannah saw the huge cut spanning the length, Lori had her pistol out but couldn't get a shot in.

"Get ready to run!" she shouted at Lori who nodded. Hannah looked at Jamie and nodded towards Lori, Jamie nodded with tears in her eyes and Hannah hugged her again before breathing in and ducking out from her cover, she heard Carl yell 'Run!' as he and Lori made their move.

The shotgun bolted wildly every time she fired, the boards over the big windows blocked out where she was firing but the cover was enough as Lori took Carl and Jamie deeper into the station, after six shots Hannah was out but the cover had been enough as the fire on the front seemed to stop. Through a gap she saw at least 3 bodies, one of which being the man who had started the 'negotiations'.

"Hannah!" a young voice yelled, across the hall she saw Duane running towards her.

It almost happened in slow motion, before Hannah could raise her hands and tell him to stop bullets flew through the window and struck the wall around Duane as he was in the clearing.

One pierced his stomach.

"Duane!" She shouted in panic as he hit the floor, on instinct Hannah took out her pistol and fired where she saw the shots come in as she moved over to where Duane was, she heard a yell on the other side but kept firing, with one hand she grabbed Duane's shirt and pulled him to her cover, much to his protest. Once her clip emptied and she was safe she began to inspect Duane.

The bullet had hit his abdomen and he was bleeding badly.

"Shit!" she yelled, without thinking she tore off her over-shirt and placed it on his wound, applying pressure. His cries turned to screams but Hannah kept up the pressure.

"Sorry Duane but I need to do this!" she shouted in tears, she had just seen Cindy die. No-one else would die today.

Not if she had anything to do with it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Paula was shocked by the sight before them, it was two of the roughest looking rednecks firing towards the roof of the station, she saw the shape of maybe Morgan or Lam firing with a shotgun but not scoring any hits.

"What do I do?!" Paula asked scared, she really shouldn't be driving a vehicle like this.

"Drive up the back, I want a shot at these bastards!" Shane yelled, Paula floored it and circled the men, one turned and fired the shotgun at the van, the bullet hit the windshield and Paula screamed but kept course, Shane began firing wildly as Paula drove up the side of the station, she dodged another car and turned round the back door.

"_Somebody let us in the back!" _Shane bellowed into the walkie, she didn't know who had the walkie with a connection to theirs but hoped someone was listening. Paula turned off the vehicle and climbed out the doors, Leon went out the back and Shane motioned to him to follow him.

"Paula! Leave the food in there, we'll get that later! Get inside now!" he yelled, he and Leon ran towards the edge of the building and went down the side, hopefully to finish off the last two guys. Paula ran towards the back door and banged on it.

"Come on, someone open up!" Paula shouted banging it, the door opened and Carol stood there, Paula ran in and she closed it behind her.

"Where are the others?" Carol asked in a panicked voice.

"They went round the side to get these assholes." Paula seethed "Is everyone okay?" she asked but Carol just shook her head as she lead Paula to the common area, there she found Carl and Sophia hugging under the cover of Lori up the corner of the kitchen area, Lori herself having a blanket wrapped around her hand. Jamie was on Lori's other side rewrapping the blanket, acting way older than her age.

"I don't know, we haven't heard from anyone since the gunfire began." She said.

"Hannah got me and Carl away from the front when we were pinned down but she hasn't come back yet." Lori chipped in.

"And we can't find Duane, we'd go and look but neither of us are armed and Lori is injured." Carol stressed.

"You're injured?" Paula asked Lori but she shook her head.

"I just cut my hand when I fell, it's nothing." She explained, beside her Sophia was crying into Carl's shoulder, he himself also being very teary, Carol was too busy fussing over Lori's wound and checking outside the room.

"I'll go and find Duane, he can't be…" Paula started but was cut off by Hannah barrelling into the room, in her arms was Duane, she gently put him on the couch.

"He's been shot, I can't stop the bleeding." She said through heavy tears. Paula swore as Carol moved to take the kids out of the room. Hannah took back the shirt over the wound and Paula saw the gunshot in the abdomen, Duane was passed out.

Not only that but the gunfire had ceased.

"Oh God. He's gonna bleed out, we need to get him to a hospit…" Paula trailed off as she realised there were no hospitals, the pale look on Hannah's face said it all, she looked to left and saw Lori still holding her cut hand with the slowly bloodying blanket.

They needed stitches and surgical equipment.

"If we go to the hospital I can try and stitch him up. But it depends on if the bullets went cleanly through or not." Paula explained, Lori looked slightly sceptical, Paula rolled Duane onto his side and checked his back, another bullet hole was symmetrical to the one on the front meaning the bullet went clean through.

"Are you sure?" Lori asked and Paula nodded.

"I did a course on first aid before we met. I know what I'm doing, trust me." She said, she still remembered how to stitch and Duane didn't have long left, the only niggle in her head coming from the fact that she had never put these skills into practice in a dire situation.

"Morgan." Hannah said, Paula turned to see Morgan standing in the doorway, his eyes rested on Duane crumpled on the couch, he got on his knees and crawled towards him.

"Duane… Duane…" he repeated feebly upon seeing him, he stared in shock as he slowly approached his son. Duane remaining unconscious as Shane and Leon ran through the back having been let in by Carol.

"We got them." Shane announced but fell silent upon seeing the crumpled form of Morgan over Duane. A few moments of collective silence held between everyone, however it was broken as Lam limped in.

"Ah!" he exclaimed as he fell into the doorframe, he was supported by Leon as he nearly fell.

"What is it?" Leon asked, Lam moved his hand from his thigh to reveal a gunshot wound.

"Took one in the leg. Hurts like shit." He said through clenched teeth, Carol walked over with another tear of cloth and pressed it to his wound.

"What are we going to do?" Morgan asked as he raised his head from his son, Hannah was knelt next to him also crying slightly, Paula felt a rogue tear run down her cheek but she wiped it off.

"If you can get me to the hospital I can find some materials to stitch him up, look at his back, the bullet went clean through, if it didn't knick anything serious I can transfuse some blood and stitch him up… but there's no guarantee." Paula explained, she had only been taught how to stitch skin together and knew the theory to the human body… but she had never had treated a gunshot wound victim.

"You can do it?" Morgan asked.

"I _might_ be able to. But only if we get our hands on the supplies." She said, however she was cut off by Lori.

"Where's Fred? Didn't he come back with you guys?" she asked, Paula's heart clenched as she thought of Cindy.

"No, he was pulled into a crowd." Leon explained.

"Oh God…" Lori said in shock, next to her Carl had stopped crying but was still sticking to his mother, it had also seemed that Jamie had forgiven Hannah since she was sitting right next to her.

"Well we won't have to worry about telling Cindy. She was hit on the roof, she didn't make it." Lam said solemnly, Paula closed her eyes momentarily to stop the tears… to many people were dying today.

"That's it. We are getting Duane to a hospital, I can also stitch up Lori and Lam but we gotta get there fast, he's already lost so much blood." Paula said and next to her Shane nodded.

"She's right. But we all have to go, nobody left behind." He ordered but he was quickly answered by Carol.

"Why do we all need to go? Only a few are injured." She asked in a stronger voice than usual, Shane turned and pointed outside.

"Those gunshots were loud, Carol. Walkers are gonna be all over this place in a matter of minutes. We all need to grab whatever we can and flee, Lam and Leon I need you to grab as many weapons as you can get your hands on, kids I want you to grab all of our tinned food and put it in those satchels by the mini-fridge, parents you can take of all the clothes and belongings. Morgan, stay here with Duane and makes sure he stays alive and get prepared to move him. Everybody go!" he ordered quickly, there was scrambling as everyone moved everywhere, Paula saw the kids diving for the satchels and then diving for the fridge, Lori, Hannah and Carol all made their way to the room as Paula spoke to Morgan.

"Morgan, I'll get your and Duane's things. Don't worry." She said, Morgan nodded as Paula ran after the mothers.

She found the men's room and grabbed the bags off the floor and shovelled whatever she could get her hands on in the bags, she tried to distinguish between Morgan and Duane's clothes but she didn't have the time. In minutes she had the bags packed before Lori ran in.

"Shane's bag." She said simply, Paula knew Lam and Leon also needed help so she threw all of the clothes she could find into any bag. They could sort later.

"Ah!" Lori exclaimed, Paula knew her hand must be giving her grief, she didn't know about the seriousness of the cut but next to gunshot wounds it wasn't serious.

"Come on!" Paula shouted, she grabbed all of the bags and grunted with the effort, she threw them into the hallway as Carol came out with her and Sophia's things, the pile in the middle would be difficult to transport. Paula ran across the hall for her things and packed them into her bag, she didn't have a lot so it didn't take long. Underneath the bed she had stashed Rick's Python, she hadn't even taken it out of the box but she had kept it anyway. She forced the box into her bag and turned and ran out to see the other women picking up the bags.

"Come on Paula, we gotta go!" Lori said lifting her and Carl's bags whilst letting out another cry of pain, Paula grabbed the few that were left and hauled the alongside the other women. They got to the common area where the kids were waiting with their bags full of the food.

"You got the food?" Hannah asked and the kids nodded, also in the room Morgan was holding Duane the best he could.

"He's still breathing! We gotta hurry!" he was shouting, Shane ran into the room and holding several sets of keys.

"Paula, those keys still in the truck?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Good, when we go outside everyone throw your bags in the truck near the RV, kids you all go to the RV, Lori can you manage it?" he asked the woman, she shook her head and raised her blanket coated hand, the white fabric was now growing red and Lori's face was rather pale.

"I'll drive." Carol said, Shane gave her a small set of keys which she held on to, Hannah was giving a bag to Sophia and Jamie to carry as Paula heard Leon run in with Lam hobbling after him, both carrying large satchels.

"We got the guns." He announced.

"We're all set then. Now I'm gonna go first, any walkers and I'll clear them. Everyone dumps your bags in the truck then get in the RV. Morgan and Duane need to go in the RV and use the bed in the back. Leon, you and Lam take the cruiser. Paula you can take the van with me, nobody panic if there are walkers just get in a vehicle. Let's go." Shane ordered as everyone started moving to the rear of the station.


	24. Scrambling for Life

Chapter 23:

Scrambling for Life

Hannah held onto Jamie's hand tight, the forgiveness of her daughter was dulled by the losses of Fred, Cindy and possibly Duane. Beside Hannah Morgan was holding Duane in his arms, Hannah let go of her daughter's hand to extract the freshly reloaded pistol from her waistband.

"Jamie, stay close." She said, behind her she heard Lori and Carol whisper similar things to their children. Hannah's senses were all firing as she was ready for the run. Shane stepped out with his shotgun, he gestured and Hannah was next with Jamie as Shane fired his shotgun.

There were at least 20 walkers in the area and Hannah knew there would be more, their little fire-fight had put up a beacon for all the walkers in King County to come and take a bite.

"Jamie, stay close!" Hannah yelled facing the direction Shane was neglecting, a particularly large male walker was lumbering dangerously close to Hannah, without thinking she raised her gun and aimed carefully before firing, the walker fell backwards hard taking out a thinner woman behind him, Leon jogged in front of Hannah firing into the crowd forcing a few down.

"Stay close to me!" he yelled at Hannah and Jamie, they did so as Leon reached the rear of the truck, Shane had gotten in front and had unlocked the back, the door shot up and Hannah tossed her bags in first, she ducked to see Leon and Jamie deposit theirs along with Shane and Paula who were both still firing. Hannah saw Morgan hurrying Duane to a now started RV, she saw Lori turn and shot down a walker as Carl and Sophia entered the RV, Shane stepped forward covering them by firing his shotgun very quickly.

The number of walkers was not waning, more were coming around the sides and out of the woods. Lori ran into the RV and shut the door behind her as a walker slammed into it, Hannah grabbed Jamie and shot a small male walker no older than 16, she felt a pull on her arm and nearly punched Leon who was dragging them to a cruiser.

"Come on!" he yelled, Hannah and Jaime obliged as she passed Paula getting into the van. In front of her Lam was feebly hobbling and firing his shotgun still taking down walkers, Hannah raised her pistol and helped him but was caught off guard as a walker ploughed into her.

"Mommy!" she heard Jamie scream, Hannah was slammed against the cruiser with the heavy-set female upon her, she saw Lam turn and pull the woman off before shooting her, however whilst he was doing this a skinny male walker dived for the older cop.

"Lam!" Hannah screamed but it was too late, the walker bit quickly on Lam's neck tearing a chunk clean out, before he could continue his head exploded as Leon ran over, a flash of metal caught her eyes and Hannah realised he had thrown the keys, she caught them and unlocked the cruiser, the remaining dozen walkers fell under a hail of gunfire from a passing RV and van.

"Hurry up!" Shane shouted from the van as it continued behind the RV, Hannah opened the back door and forced her daughter inside before looking up to see Leon execute Lam with a gunshot to the head.

"Leon!" she yelled, he turned and caught the thrown keys and entered the driver's seat and Hannah took the passenger seat. Before Hannah could even close the door Leon had floored the accelerator, the cruiser dodged between two more approaching walkers and jumped onto the road, just ahead the RV and van were starting to get further away.

"Can we catch up?" Jamie asked, Leon turned in his seat and smiled for the first time in a week.

"Oh yeah." He said as he shifted the gear and the cruiser gained more speed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Carl's heart was still forcing its way out of his chest even after the RV pulled away from the station, one walker had nearly grabbed him he had gotten than close, thankfully someone shot it but Carl was still scared out of his mind.

Next to him Sophia was still crying, Carl was comforting her this time since Carol was driving, Carl was upset that Duane was going to die. Apparently Paula was going to stop him from dying but even Carl could tell she was only guessing. The one thing Carl was truly focused on now was the hospital, what scared him most was not that Duane was probably going to die or that there might be walkers.

It was where his Dad would be.

According to Shane his Dad died in the hospital… that meant he could be a walker. Carl had no desire whatsoever to meet to maker of his nightmares in a run-down hospital, let alone anywhere else.

"You ok sweetie?" his Mom asked from next to him, since she cut her hand she wasn't helping Duane. Carl was still angry with her for what he saw her do with Shane, but when everything was going crazy he couldn't stay mad, he felt like it would be best to never mention what he saw.

"I'm okay Mom." He said, he was more concerned about her, her hand was obviously still bleeding badly and her face was very pale. As soon as they had gotten in the RV Carl had sat in the middle, out of the way and Sophia had joined him. It had been 3 seconds before she started crying again and resumed the position of hugging Carl, he was to terrified of what happened and what will happened to be embarrassed and everyone (Carl included) was more focused and making sure Duane was going to be okay.

"Guys, where am I going? I don't know King County!" Carol shouted exasperated, his Mom walked through to give directions, Carl was also rather nervous about Carol driving, mainly because if they came across walkers he got the feeling she would just stop.

"Are we there yet?" a crumpled Sophia asked as she raised her head from Carl's shoulder, her eyes were very red… she hadn't really stopped crying since the people with guns attacked the station. Carl still didn't know why they bothered doing it, they were all dead now anyway.

"No, see we're just going past the high school so we're not that far…" Carl began to explain but he was cut off by the frighteningly panicked voice of Morgan.

"He's stopped breathing. He stopped breathing!" he shouted, Carl's Mom moved forwards and he knew she was checking for breathing.

"Give him CPR!" Carl shouted, he remembered the technique but he was rather immaturely unwilling to get that close to Duane.

"I don't know how!" Morgan shouted.

"Move aside." his Mom said bending over Duane, Carl watched as his already pale mother started to breathe into Duane's mouth followed by several compressions.

"Which way do I go?!" Carol shouted as she came up a crossroad, Carl recognised the junction from visiting his Dad in the hospital.

"Left! Go left!" he shouted.

"Carol, floor it!" Morgan shouted, Carl glanced back to see his mother still doing CPR on Duane.

"_Hey, guys what's with the speed?"_ Shane's voice came on the walkie, with the adults busy Carl grabbed it off the cushion where his mother left it.

"Um… Duane stopped breathing but Mom's giving him CPR." Carl said quickly, he didn't know what exactly to tell Shane.

"_Okay bud, tell Carol to drive safe." _He said firmly, speaking to Carl like an adult for the first time, Carol grunted and heaved the wheel as she found the driveway to the hospital, the RV jumped backwards and Carl fell over but was stopped by Sophia who held on to his shirt. Carl looked back to see his mother struggling to stand up, after another compression he saw her fall back down again, only this time she struggled to even support herself.

"Mom!" he yelled, he walked over to her as Morgan checked his son again.

"He's breathing." Morgan sighed, Carl was more interested in his mother.

"I'm fine…" she muttered but she still couldn't support herself, Carl saw the blanket over her hand was now completely red, between that and the rapid breathing into Duane even Carl knew she must have overexerted herself.

"Just stay still." Carl said trying to take charge, as soon as the RV stopped Morgan started to pick up Duane and moved towards outside, the van containing Shane and Paula pulled up beside them and the cruiser pulled up on the other side, Carl exited behind Carol and Morgan but hung in the doorway with Sophia, he saw his mother crawl onto the seating in the middle behind him.

"Nice work everyone." Shane said as everyone grouped around, armed and readied, Paula checked on Duane and looked to Shane.

"Shane we've _got _to hurry. How is his breathing?" she asked Morgan.

"Lori got it back but she's nearly passed out." He explained, she was moving on the spot clearly eager to go.

"Blood loss, that cut's taken a lot from her." Carol said, Shane put his hand over his mouth and looked around at the group. Leon spoke up.

"We don't need all of us. Just enough people to get Duane to surgery, stitching equipment can be brought back for Lori." He said, Shane nodded and pointed to Hannah.

"Hannah, take Jamie into the RV with a satchel of the weapons. Stay hidden in the RV with Carol, Lori and the kids until we radio in. Carol, you any good at stitching?" he asked the woman, she shrugged her shoulders slowly.

"I can sew… but stitching…" she said slowly.

"Well when we find the equipment somebody will come back with it for Lori. Everyone else with me, we get in armed with knives, we get Duane to the surgery and Paula can do her thing." He ordered, everyone nodded and began to move, Leon opened the back of the truck and handed a satchel off to Hannah.

"Carl…" Lori muttered from the sofa, Carl walked over to her as she began to speak to him.

"Yes Mom?"

"I'll be okay baby, don't you worry. I just want you to know that I'm proud of you… you were so brave today…" she said cupping Carl's face in her hand weakly, her skin was almost sheet-white and she was speaking weakly.

"Thanks, rest up… they're going into the hospital to save Duane now." He said, Lori nodded and her eyes began to close slowly, behind him Carl saw Sophia standing there as Jamie and Carol walked in, Hannah passed the bag of weapons off to Carol as she entered the RV and closed the door.

"Okay everybody, stay low. We don't want the walkers seeing us, Carl wake your mother up and give her this water, she needs to be hydrated." She said handing a bottle of water to Carl, he hoped that Shane would find the medical equipment soon.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Morgan, stay with me!" Paula said as they all ran, Duane was in serious trouble, judging by the state of his and Morgan's shirts he was dangerously low on blood. Every second he was not on the table was more percentage taken away from his chances of surviving.

"Clear!" Shane shouted from in front of them, he and Leon were checking the corridors ahead of them, thankfully it was virtually abandoned, Paula had not taken her pistol out since she was so focused on Duane.

"How's he doing?!" Leon asked as he checked the adjacent hallway.

"I need him on the table now, surgeries two floors down yeah?" she asked Shane, he nodded and she pointed to Leon.

"You two go ahead, I know where to find anaesthetic. I need it for the surgery, get Duane on table and I'll be there when I find it."

"Won't it be there?" Morgan asked but Paula shook her head.

"I had a friend who worked here, she said she was sick of how King County Hospital stored their anaesthetic a floor above the surgery room." Paula said, Morgan nodded and Leon and him ran ahead but Shane hung back.

"I'll give you a hand." Shane said, Paula was going to argue but he already travelled ahead, Paula tried to remember Sandy's voice in her head… she had mentioned she had to walk across from the elevator.

"Lemme think…" she said, Shane turned with his shotgun still at the ready, Paula still was thinking hard. All she knew is that it was one floor above surgery, which was only one floor down.

"I got it!" she said, she took out her pistol and ran in front of Shane, leading him, she travelled down the stairs since the elevators would not be working. She heard Shane behind her, it was a bold streak of luck that there were no walkers.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Shane asked.

"Yes! I'm sick of you asking me that!" Paula shouted turning around to be practically nose-to-nose with Shane.

"I'm sorry but this ain't something simple like putting down a walker, we're talking about saving a kids life. You ain't a nurse…" he stated but Paula impatiently seethed over him.

"I don't need reminding. Right now I am the only chance this kid has! I don't know if I can do it but I will be _fucked _if I just stand by and watch this kid die!" Paula tried to say to him in a quieter voice but it had risen to a shout, right now she didn't care about walkers, or guns or even what was happening to the rest of world, all she cared about was making sure this kid didn't die. She exited the stairs and found the elevator entrance, directly opposite was a storeroom, Paula ran for it, inside was a mess of supplies, obviously looted, however she saw a canister left on the shelf adjacent to the door.

"Shane, give me a hand?" she asked, she turned but saw he wasn't there, she didn't have time to wonder, she needed to get this to Duane.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hannah sat in the driver's seat of the RV with the pistol in her lap, concern for Duane and the others had muted conversation in the RV, she looked in the rear view mirror to see the kids sat on the sofa opposite a passed out Lori, giving CPR whilst losing blood had done her in… not that it wasn't the right thing to do.

Carol meanwhile was going back into her neutral mode when she was stressed, Hannah turned to see her up the back of the RV trying to clean up the blood stain left by Duane on the bed.

"You okay Carol?" Hannah asked the woman, she turned around timidly and nodded.

"I will be once this is clean." She said mutely, her daughter was sat still hugging Carl, they had been hugging the entire time and had been comforting each other considering one's mother was passed out and the other was cleaning obsessively.

"Mom, how long will they be?" Jamie asked moving into the seat next to her, she leant over and rested her head on her mother's shoulder and Hannah stroked her hair lovingly.

"I dunno sweetie, depends if Paula can save Duane." She comforted her daughter, she looked out into the hospital car park and saw the executed bodies in the staff parking lot. Morgan had told her that they had executed the infected in mass at the hospitals when the infection was first spreading. She saw movement slightly in the distance on her right and forced Jamie's head down.

"Walker! Down!" she whispered loudly, she saw Carol, Carl and Sophia all hit the deck as she held onto her gun, she began to sit up slowly and looked out over the parking lot.

It wasn't a walker, it was another filthy redneck, he looked in his late 40's and was wearing a filthy leather jacket, he waltzed instead of walked almost and he was holding a rifle, there was a limp in his step and he was visibly wincing as he walked. Hannah watched as he checked one or two of the the abandoned cars nearby, he began to turn to the RV and Hannah ducked down.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, she checked again to see the redneck still walking over.

"Mom…" Jamie began to say but Hannah cut her off.

"Everybody, play dead! Don't move!" she whispered loudly, she saw Carl and Sophia slump against sofa and close their eyes still looking confused, Hannah saw Carol climb onto the bed next to the one she was washing and pull the covers over her, Lori didn't move a muscle, still unconscious. Hannah crawled over to the RV and pressed her weight on it before remembering he would pull it open, not push it.

She heard the footsteps draw closer, she turned to Jamie to see her still looking at Hannah and Hannah put a finger to her lips and turned the safety off on her gun. This was not going to be a subtle plan.

As soon as she felt the door handle click on the other side she thrust all her weight upon it.

She felt the weight on the other side and she knew she had hit him square on, she kept her footing and stood up pointing the face at the redneck, luckily his rifle fell on the other side of Hannah and she gave it a sharp kick so it slid away out of reach.

"Don't. Fucking. Move." She seethed still holding the gun to his face, the redneck didn't look frightened though, he chuckled.

"My, my sugartits. That's no way to greet a stranger now is it?" he joked, Hannah couldn't see how this man could joke with a gun to his head, perhaps he had brain damage and he escape from an asylum. Hannah kicked him hard in the shin.

"Get up." She ordered he did so and held his hands above his head.

"You're being mighty impolite you know." He sneered but Hannah stood her ground.

"The last rednecks I met tried to kill me and my daughter so excuse me for being a bit sceptical of the redneck walking towards my RV with a rifle." She seethed, she was somewhat proud of her answer but had no time to wallow in it because the click of a weapon behind her made her breath in.

"Get that gun out o' my brother's face." The voice ordered, Hannah turned to see another younger looking redneck stood there, however her eyes went to the massive crossbow aimed at her face.

"Oh, shit." She whimpered, however as she began to move her gun the RV door opened again and a pistol was thrust into the rednecks face.

"Don't move!" a young yet strong voice yelled, the younger redneck was moved back as Hannah still held the gun on the older one, out of the RV came her own daughter, holding a revolver she must have taken out of the weapons bag, even the safety was off.

"Go sit by your brother. Leave the crossbow." Hannah ordered, the swell of pride in her daughter was immense as the younger redneck dropped the crossbow and Jamie held the gun on him, as he walked over to his brother and sat by him Hannah took the revolver off of Jamie and aimed one gun at each redneck.

"Go back inside and get someone on the walkie, I'll keep them here." She said, after that display of courage she felt the great bubble of pride in her daughter expand as she went back inside the RV.

"What's your name honeybunch?" the older redneck asked in his drawling voice, Hannah felt a little bit of vomit try to creep up in her mouth.

"None of your business." She snapped, but the redneck didn't seem to quit.

"I'll tell you ours to get the ball rollin'. I'm Merle Dixon and that's my brother Daryl, feeling better?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Leon!" Paula shouted as she struggled to carry the tank of anaesthetic, Leon came over and helped her drag it to the table where Morgan was caring for Duane.

"Please hurry…" Morgan pleaded, Paula's entire body was running at 200% as she tried to stay calm, the kit was already open on the table, without running water she simply used some disinfectant from a dispenser in the hall, she ran back as Morgan was putting the face mask on Duane.

"Twist it open! I need him under so he doesn't jerk whilst I'm stitching him, I don't want to do more damage." Paula said, her voice was shaking _so _much… so were her hands.

"Come on Paula… Come on…" she was saying to herself trying to steady her hands as she put on surgical gloves, they were very tight and Paula felt her hands grow cold, just like her heart was turning despite the rapid beating.

"It's okay Duane…" Morgan was whispering whilst stroking his son's hair, Paula was breathing deeply and slowly as she found the tools she needed… it had been so long since Duane had been shot and he had lost way too much blood.

Suddenly Paula's hands started shaking hard again, the thread she had begun to stitch slid out of the bullet hole she was stitching.

"Fuck." She whimpered, she continued breathing deeply but Morgan wasn't helping.

"Come on Paula!" he shouted.

"Don't rush me!" she shouted back in a panic, her breathing was becoming very restricting, she felt her chest begin to tighten and her entire body convulsed slightly, not only was her hands shaking but Duane was starting to twitch.

"Paula, what's going on?" Leon and Morgan kept asking, Paula tried answering but the only thing that came out of her mouth were shallow, quick breaths.

"I… can't…" Paula said before something else took over, Duane started to convulse.

"Duane! No! Paula?!" Morgan yelled at her, Paula could only fall back onto her rear, she knew she was having a panic attack but Duane's convulsion was more important, she saw Leon and Morgan try to help him but neither knew what to do. She tried to get up but her head buzzed and protested forcing her back down.

The only thing Paula could do was watch as she gasped for breath.

Then she saw Duane's body stop moving, Paula's panic attack started to slow down as she saw Leon feel for a pulse. He turned to Paula and spoke in a dead voice.

"He's dead."


	25. Closure

Chapter 24:

Closure

Shane knew he shouldn't have left Paula by herself but he needed to do this, it was the whole reason he had agreed to go to the hospital.

It was sad to say but Paula wasn't going to save Duane, she wasn't a surgeon and the faith she had in herself was misplaced. She wouldn't be able to handle the pressure.

Shane recognised the corridor as the same one he was running through when the whole apocalypse began, looking for the same door as he had last time, the same one that he had shoved a stretcher in front of to block the door.

It wasn't just him who needed to know, he knew that if he could say to Lori and Carl that Rick wasn't a walker or he was 'put down' then there would be some closure there. It would be harsh but would be just what they would need to get over Rick.

Shane held his shotgun aloft as he moved closer to the room, the stretcher was on the opposite side of the door from where he left it… that could mean someone got out…

Or something got in.

Shane looked around in the room where he had left Rick, it was completely empty. There were no remains but also no blood… Rick could have easily have crawled outside and died somewhere in the hospital. Shane even checked the bathroom which was also empty, he walked outside and was growing even more concerned about the lack of walkers.

Where the hell were they?

Shane walked down the hall, he stepped over a eaten corpse showing that the walkers were indeed once here in their numbers. He walked down another hall only to be confronted by a double-door sprayed with graffiti.

_Don't Open Dead Inside_

Shane gave the door a slight nudge, something pushed against the door on the other side however the chain and lock stopped it from opening, a single rotting hand forced its way through but could reach out, a foul stench and groaning accompanied it.

That answered the question as to where the dead were.

Shane sighed and lowered the shotgun having raised it in defence, he didn't like the chances that there was a walker version of Rick stumbling around in there, the chances of someone throwing him in there were very high. The hospital looked like it had been ransacked but by the time Shane was leaving to get Lori and Carl there were people taking things even then.

A clatter from another hallway got Rick's attention.

"Paula?" he asked out loud, when he received no answer he walked over tentatively to the reception area where the clanging came from, he breathed in and lowered the shotgun before pulling out a knife, if it was only one he didn't need a gun, he didn't want to alarm anyone.

He paced the shotgun on another stretcher, he held the knife tightly as he rounded the corner.

No one was there.

Shane sighed but heard another clatter from around the corner, the thing making the noise was on the move. Shane rounded the corner and saw a male walker in a hospital gown stumbling through the hall, Shane stared for a while as he approached slowly, his preoccupation meant he wasn't watching where he was stepping and he accidently hit a small bucket on the floor, the noise got the walkers attention who turned around quickly.

Shane stood in shock as he looked at the face of the walker.

Except it didn''t look like a walker.

"Help…" the walker said as he leant against the wall, Shane was still in shock as he spoke his first words since seeing the face of his best friend.

"Rick?"

_Authors Note: That concludes the first story arc, I know it took a LONG time but I will write more of the second story arc this time and post it later instead of posting as I write since it is more difficult. I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed and followed my story and I welcome you to read the second story which will be titled The U-Turn: A Full 360 Degrees._

_Feel free to review this story and let me know how you thought the story was as a whole._


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